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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. court — of a king
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. capital — a city
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. spell — a short time
  13. date — the fruit
  14. swing — to play on
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. spell — magic
  17. court — of law
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. court — for sport
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  24. spell — letters

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