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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: tear · temple · lash · spell · bowl · wind · sharp · cell

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. wind — moving air
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. wind — moving air
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. spell — a short time
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. sharp — clever
  12. cell — in biology
  13. spell — magic
  14. tear — to rip
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. spell — letters
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. tear — from crying
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. cell — a phone
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. bowl — a dish

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