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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. game — a match
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. stem — to come from
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mug — to rob
  11. plane — a tool
  12. mug — a cup
  13. mug — a face
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. game — wild animals
  17. rash — hasty
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a city
  24. wound — an injury

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