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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 120 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a line of people
  5. snap — to click
  6. file — a tool
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. mate — to breed
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. root — the cause
  14. tear — from crying
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. mate — a friend
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. root — of a word
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. kick — in football
  24. root — of a plant

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