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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. capital — a city
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. band — a ring
  6. shower — to wash
  7. sharp — clever
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. scale — in music
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. band — a music group
  15. capital — money
  16. cue — for pool
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. cue — a hint
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. shower — rain
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. cue — a signal
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. scale — size or range

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