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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 116 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wind — moving air
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. scale — in music
  8. wound — an injury
  9. scale — size or range
  10. mate — a friend
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. deal — to handle
  18. mate — to breed
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. tear — to rip
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. mate — a partner
  24. wind — moving air

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