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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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Word bank
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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. mate — a partner
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. date — the fruit
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. tear — from crying
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. mate — a friend
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. mate — to breed
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bat — the animal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. chest — of your body

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