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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 120 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: bowl · hand · pit · lash · spring · tear · bay · wound

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. pit — in a race
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. spring — of water
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. tear — from crying
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. spring — the season
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. pit — a hole
  14. tear — to rip
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. tear — from crying
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. wound — an injury
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. spring — a coil
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bowl — a football final

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