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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. season — in sport
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. spell — magic
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. march — the month
  9. spell — a short time
  10. march — the month
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. march — music
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. season — of the year
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. season — to add flavour

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