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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 116 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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. bat — the animal
  4. swing — music
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. tear — from crying
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. tear — to rip
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. tear — from crying

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