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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 116 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. face — to point toward
  4. rock — music
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. net — in sport
  7. mug — a face
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. face — part of the head
  14. mug — to rob
  15. face — to confront
  16. capital — money
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. net — after costs
  20. kid — child
  21. mug — a cup
  22. capital — a city
  23. net — for catching
  24. lash — an eyelash

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