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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. field — for sport
  4. capital — a city
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mark — a trace
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. ground — crushed
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. can — to be able to
  11. saw — the tool
  12. mark — a grade
  13. ground — the earth
  14. capital — money
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. can — a tin
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. can — a tin
  20. ground — a position
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. mark — to pay attention

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