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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. mate — to breed
  5. prune — to trim
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. stand — to bear
  16. kick — in football
  17. mate — a partner
  18. prune — to trim
  19. mate — a friend
  20. shower — rain
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to confront
  24. stand — on your feet

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