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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: capital · tear · hide · lash · cold · suit · scale · jam

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. suit — to fit
  10. tear — from crying
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. suit — clothes
  13. tear — to rip
  14. scale — size or range
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. suit — in cards
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cold — not warm
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. scale — in music
  22. cold — an illness
  23. capital — money
  24. jam — in traffic

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