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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 120 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. game — wild animals
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. last — finally
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. ball — a dance
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. capital — money
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. ball — a great time
  17. last — to go on
  18. sharp — clever
  19. last — final
  20. game — a match
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. capital — a city
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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