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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 · land · hide · fall · bat · lash · mate · pass

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. fall — the season
  4. land — ground
  5. bat — the animal
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. mate — a partner
  8. land — a country
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. mate — a friend
  11. tear — from crying
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. tear — from crying
  18. land — to come down
  19. tear — to rip
  20. fall — to drop
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. pass — a permit
  24. mate — to breed

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