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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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — in biology
  3. rash — hasty
  4. kick — in football
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. row — a line
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. scale — size or range
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. rash — a series
  13. capital — a city
  14. row — to paddle
  15. scale — in music
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. cell — a phone
  19. capital — money
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. kick — a thrill

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