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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: racket · lash · dip · tear · spell · rest · wound · date

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rest — a break
  4. tear — to rip
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. rest — what's left
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. spell — a short time
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. spell — magic
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. wound — an injury
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. rest — what's left
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. date — the fruit
  24. spell — letters

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