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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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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: snap · tear · can · club · lash · leaves · pop · hand

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. tear — to rip
  3. hand — help
  4. can — to be able to
  5. can — a tin
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. club — for golf
  8. snap — to click
  9. tear — from crying
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. can — a tin
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pop — to visit
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. pop — soda
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. hand — in cards
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. club — a group
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. pop — music

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