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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. snap — to click
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. tear — to rip
  5. lie — to recline
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. mate — a friend
  11. tear — from crying
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. mate — a partner
  15. tear — from crying
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. degree — from a university
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. craft — a skill
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. mate — to breed
  23. degree — an amount
  24. lash — an eyelash

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