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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 120 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: cap · lash · tear · wound · leaves · firm · kid · march

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. march — music
  4. firm — decided
  5. cap — a hat
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. kid — child
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. firm — a company
  16. kid — to tease
  17. firm — steady
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. wound — an injury
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cap — a lid

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