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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mine — for digging
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. rock — music
  6. race — a contest
  7. stock — shares
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. race — the arms race
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. race — humankind
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. stock — goods
  16. rock — a stone
  17. game — wild animals
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. game — a match
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. lash — to lash out

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