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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. rash — a series
  4. cue — for pool
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. cue — a signal
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. net — in sport
  9. capital — a city
  10. bark — to shout
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. net — after costs
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cell — in biology
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. net — for catching
  17. cell — a phone
  18. rash — hasty
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. capital — money
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. pitcher — a jug

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