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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cap · chair · nail · drill · lie · club · tear · lash

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — a hat
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. chair — a leader
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. club — a group
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. club — for dancing
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. drill — army training
  15. lie — to recline
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. drill — the tool
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cap — of ice
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. club — for golf

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