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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. spell — a short time
  3. present — the time now
  4. present — a gift
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. tear — from crying
  7. race — the arms race
  8. capital — money
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. spell — letters
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. tear — to rip
  13. present — there
  14. race — humankind
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. snap — to click
  19. race — a contest
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. capital — a city
  22. spell — magic
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a tree

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