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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: straw · lean · leaves · tear · rash · capital · pit · lash

  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. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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. rash — hasty
  4. lean — thin
  5. capital — a city
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. pit — in a race
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. lean — to bend
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pit — a hole
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. rash — a series
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. tear — from crying
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. capital — money

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