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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. chest — a box
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. hand — in cards
  12. object — an aim
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. tear — from crying
  15. hand — help
  16. chest — of your body
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. object — to protest
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — in a race

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