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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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Word bank
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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: sharp · current · land · hide · hand · bat · lash · tear

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. hand — in cards
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. sharp — clever
  7. land — ground
  8. tear — to rip
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. current — happening now
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. current — electric
  14. bat — the animal
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. land — to come down
  22. hand — help
  23. tear — from crying
  24. land — a country

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