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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 · ruler · straw · mug · lash · race · field · squash

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. tear — from crying
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. race — the arms race
  10. field — for sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. mug — a face
  13. field — a subject
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. mug — a cup
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. race — a contest
  19. mug — to rob
  20. field — farmland
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. race — humankind
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. tear — to rip

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