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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. cue — a hint
  3. tear — from crying
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. tear — from crying
  6. last — to go on
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. rest — a break
  9. capital — a city
  10. fine — all right
  11. rest — what's left
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. capital — money
  14. cue — for pool
  15. rest — what's left
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. cue — a signal
  18. last — final
  19. last — finally
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. tear — to rip
  22. fine — high quality
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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