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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. spell — magic
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. lean — to bend
  7. tear — to rip
  8. ball — a great time
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. date — the fruit
  13. tear — from crying
  14. capital — a city
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. ball — a dance
  17. fork — in a road
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. capital — money
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — letters
  24. capital — a big letter

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