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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. march — music
  3. court — of law
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. fork — in a road
  6. lean — thin
  7. capital — money
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. capital — a city
  10. clip — for paper
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. court — for sport
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. court — of a king
  19. march — the month
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. snap — to click
  22. march — the month
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. lean — to bend

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