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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. snap — to click
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. tear — from crying
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. net — after costs
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lie — to recline
  14. net — in sport
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. net — for catching
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. squash — to crush
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. roll — a cake
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. tear — to rip
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. roll — a list

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