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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — the earth
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. court — for sport
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. court — of law
  11. row — to paddle
  12. tear — from crying
  13. row — a line
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. bat — the animal
  18. ground — a position
  19. court — of a king
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bat — in an idiom

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