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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. swing — in golf
  6. tear — from crying
  7. dip — to sink
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. season — of the year
  10. hand — in cards
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. hand — help
  16. swing — to play on
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. swing — music
  20. mine — for digging
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. season — in sport

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