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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: lash · march · wind · field · snap · tear · lie · pass

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wind — moving air
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. field — for sport
  10. wind — moving air
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. snap — to click
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. march — the month
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pass — a permit
  21. lie — to recline
  22. field — farmland
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. lie — an untruth

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