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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.

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. band — a music group
  4. bulb — for light
  5. march — the month
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. march — the month
  8. cap — a hat
  9. band — a ring
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. march — music
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. capital — money
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a lid
  18. bulb — for light

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