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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: face · last · capital · lean · tear · rush · spring · club

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. last — final
  3. face — part of the head
  4. spring — of water
  5. face — to point toward
  6. lean — thin
  7. club — for dancing
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. face — to confront
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. capital — a city
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. club — for golf
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. spring — the season
  17. tear — to rip
  18. last — finally
  19. spring — a coil
  20. club — a group
  21. tear — from crying
  22. last — to go on
  23. rush — hurry
  24. lean — to bend

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