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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. cap — a hat
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. capital — a city
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. cap — a lid
  16. tear — to rip
  17. wound — an injury
  18. tear — from crying
  19. march — the month
  20. capital — money
  21. march — music
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. cap — of ice

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