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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: tear · straw · content · bat · craft · lash · wound · lie

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. craft — boats
  5. lie — to recline
  6. tear — to rip
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. craft — a skill
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bat — the animal
  20. content — happy
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. straw — dry grass

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