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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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Word bank
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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: tear · lash · racket · snap · scale · rash · fan · roll

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — size or range
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. rash — a series
  8. snap — to click
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. rash — hasty
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. roll — a list
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. tear — from crying
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. tear — from crying
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. tear — to rip
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. fan — a supporter

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