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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. spell — letters
  4. tear — to rip
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — all right
  7. spell — magic
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. bank — for money
  10. tear — from crying
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to click
  16. spell — a short time
  17. fine — high quality
  18. bank — of a river
  19. bank — for money
  20. saw — the tool
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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