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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. tear — to rip
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. tear — from crying
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. squash — to crush
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. degree — temperature
  11. tear — from crying
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. spell — magic
  15. degree — from a university
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. spell — a short time
  21. degree — an amount
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. squash — the sport

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