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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 120 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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. tear — to rip
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. season — in sport
  5. stock — shares
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. cold — not warm
  9. stand — to bear
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. capital — money
  20. cold — an illness
  21. season — of the year
  22. capital — a city
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. stock — goods

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