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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 116 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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bass — the fish
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — money
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bear — the animal
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — rain
  16. bass — low music
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. pitcher — in baseball

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