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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. rash — a series
  3. kick — in football
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. court — of law
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. march — the month
  11. rash — hasty
  12. scale — in music
  13. march — music
  14. dip — to sink
  15. court — for sport
  16. scale — size or range
  17. capital — money
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. court — of a king
  22. capital — a city
  23. march — the month
  24. kick — a thrill

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