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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — after costs
  5. tear — to rip
  6. craft — a skill
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. spring — of water
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — happy
  11. bound — obliged
  12. spring — the season
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — tied together
  16. sharp — clever
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. spring — a coil
  19. craft — boats
  20. content — the amount
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. net — in sport
  23. tear — from crying
  24. craft — a handicraft

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