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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. swing — in golf
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. snap — to click
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cell — in biology
  10. swing — to play on
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cell — a phone
  16. net — in sport
  17. swing — music
  18. mine — for digging
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — after costs
  24. tear — to rip

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