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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. rash — a series
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. swing — to play on
  13. rest — what's left
  14. shower — rain
  15. swing — in golf
  16. tear — from crying
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. rest — a break
  21. tear — to rip
  22. shower — to wash
  23. swing — music
  24. wake — a trail

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