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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. spring — of water
  3. ball — a dance
  4. mate — to breed
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. tear — from crying
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. mate — a partner
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. mate — a friend
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cell — a phone
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. tear — to rip
  23. fork — in a road
  24. lash — to lash out

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