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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: plane · lash · tear · bank · pass · bat · snap · cold

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bank — of a river
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — for money
  16. tear — from crying
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. snap — to click
  24. lash — an eyelash

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