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

Word bank: firm · tear · lash · wind · date · pit · drill · cold

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pit — in a race
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. cold — not warm
  7. date — the fruit
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. tear — to rip
  10. drill — the tool
  11. firm — a company
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. drill — a practice
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pit — a hole
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. drill — army training
  23. firm — steady
  24. firm — decided

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