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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. cap — a hat
  6. tear — to rip
  7. saw — the tool
  8. chest — of your body
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. cap — of ice
  11. wind — moving air
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chest — of your body
  15. net — after costs
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cap — a lid
  19. net — for catching
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. tear — from crying
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. chest — a box

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