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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 · cap · land · rest · key · file · snap · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. key — in music
  3. land — a country
  4. tear — from crying
  5. land — to come down
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. cap — a hat
  10. key — the most important part
  11. rest — what's left
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. file — a line of people
  14. key — for a lock
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a document
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. rest — what's left
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — of ice
  22. land — ground
  23. rest — a break
  24. tear — to rip

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