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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. tear — to rip
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hand — help
  5. fall — to drop
  6. tear — from crying
  7. hand — in cards
  8. clip — to cut
  9. net — for catching
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. craft — a skill
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. fall — the season
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. clip — for paper
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. tear — from crying
  19. net — in sport
  20. clip — a video
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. net — after costs
  24. craft — boats

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