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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: date · lash · kid · wake · game · tear · can · lie

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. can — a tin
  4. kid — to tease
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. game — a match
  9. tear — to rip
  10. wake — a trail
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. can — to be able to
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. date — the fruit
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. game — wild animals
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. lie — to recline
  24. can — a tin

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