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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. last — to go on
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. last — finally
  8. cap — a lid
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. shower — rain
  13. cap — of ice
  14. last — final
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. fall — the season
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. capital — money
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. cap — a hat
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — to drop
  24. capital — a city

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