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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. cell — in biology
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. drill — army training
  6. tear — from crying
  7. drill — a practice
  8. stock — goods
  9. tear — to rip
  10. spell — magic
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cell — a phone
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. spell — letters
  18. drill — the tool
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. stock — shares
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. kick — in football
  23. spell — a short time
  24. tear — from crying

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