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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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Word bank
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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 · squash · face · mine · spring · lash · capital · calf

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. tear — to rip
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — a coil
  5. face — part of the head
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. spring — of water
  8. capital — money
  9. tear — from crying
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. capital — a city
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. mine — for digging
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. squash — the sport
  21. squash — to crush
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — to confront
  24. calf — a young 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