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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: rest · bowl · toast · capital · prune · spring · tear · lash

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. capital — a city
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. tear — from crying
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. toast — bread
  9. rest — what's left
  10. prune — to trim
  11. spring — the season
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. tear — to rip
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. tear — from crying
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. prune — to trim
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. rest — what's left
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. rest — a break
  24. capital — money

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