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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: charge · row · clip · bay · drill · tear · root · lash

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. charge — a price
  3. root — of a plant
  4. root — of a word
  5. clip — for paper
  6. tear — from crying
  7. drill — the tool
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. charge — in control
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — a line
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. tear — to rip
  15. drill — army training
  16. root — the cause
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. tear — from crying
  19. charge — electricity
  20. clip — a video
  21. drill — a practice
  22. clip — to cut
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bay — a horse colour

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