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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: wound · season · lash · tear · bear · cap · fork · capital

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. wound — an injury
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wound — an injury
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cap — a hat
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. season — of the year
  13. cap — of ice
  14. season — in sport
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. capital — money
  20. bear — the animal
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. capital — a city
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bear — the animal

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