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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. court — of law
  3. cell — a phone
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — final
  6. tear — to rip
  7. can — to be able to
  8. can — a tin
  9. tear — from crying
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. last — finally
  12. tear — from crying
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. court — of a king
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. cell — in biology
  19. stem — to come from
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. court — for sport
  24. stem — of a plant

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