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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — hasty
  3. firm — steady
  4. bark — to shout
  5. capital — a city
  6. date — the fruit
  7. cell — a phone
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. cell — in biology
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. game — a match
  17. firm — a company
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. game — wild animals
  20. firm — decided
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. capital — money
  24. game — a kind of play

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