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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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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 spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. stock — shares
  6. sharp — clever
  7. file — a document
  8. land — a country
  9. land — ground
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. ground — crushed
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. tear — from crying
  19. land — to come down
  20. ground — the earth
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. ground — a position
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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