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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: lash · scale · mate · ground · wind · tear · lie · fan

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wind — moving air
  4. tear — to rip
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. ground — a position
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. mate — to breed
  10. lie — to recline
  11. wind — moving air
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mate — a friend
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ground — the earth
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. mate — a partner
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — in 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