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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. game — wild animals
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. shower — rain
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. shower — to wash
  7. club — for golf
  8. game — a match
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — crushed
  11. spell — a short time
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. stem — to come from
  14. spell — magic
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. club — for dancing
  20. club — a group
  21. spell — letters
  22. ground — the earth
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. tear — from crying

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