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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 116 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. stem — to come from
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. tear — from crying
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. mate — a friend
  9. capital — a city
  10. tear — to rip
  11. mate — to breed
  12. kid — to tease
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. snap — to click
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. tear — from crying
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. kid — child
  24. capital — money

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