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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. land — to come down
  3. season — in sport
  4. content — happy
  5. last — finally
  6. content — the amount
  7. row — to paddle
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. row — a line
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. last — to go on
  12. bulb — for light
  13. tear — from crying
  14. land — a country
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. last — final
  18. land — ground
  19. season — of the year
  20. bulb — for light
  21. tear — to rip
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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