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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. tear — from crying
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. land — ground
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. wind — moving air
  7. drill — the tool
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. race — the arms race
  10. drill — army training
  11. squash — the sport
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. land — to come down
  16. drill — a practice
  17. race — humankind
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. squash — to crush
  24. race — a contest

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