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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. firm — decided
  4. net — after costs
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. row — a line
  8. chest — a box
  9. spell — letters
  10. dip — to sink
  11. net — for catching
  12. capital — a city
  13. firm — steady
  14. chest — of your body
  15. spell — a short time
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. row — to paddle
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. spell — magic
  22. net — in sport
  23. chest — of your body
  24. firm — a company

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