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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bore — to drill
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. current — electric
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — money
  7. row — a line
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. snap — to click
  11. current — happening now
  12. row — to paddle
  13. current — of water
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. chest — a box
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bore — to tire
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. cell — in biology
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. chest — of your body

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