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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: tear · lash · capital · march · row · lie · ground · kid

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. ground — crushed
  3. march — music
  4. ground — the earth
  5. capital — money
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. kid — child
  9. march — the month
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. ground — a position
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. row — a line
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. march — the month
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. tear — from crying
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. kid — to tease

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