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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. date — the fruit
  16. branch — a division
  17. hand — in cards
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. ground — a position
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. ground — the earth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com