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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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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. capital — a city
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. rock — music
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. row — a line
  8. field — farmland
  9. toast — bread
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. rock — a stone
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. row — to paddle
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. capital — money
  18. lash — an eyelash

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