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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. drill — a practice
  7. chest — of your body
  8. key — the most important part
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. drill — army training
  11. perch — the fish
  12. drill — the tool
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. key — for a lock
  16. capital — money
  17. key — in music
  18. capital — a city
  19. season — in sport
  20. chest — of your body
  21. snap — to click
  22. season — of the year
  23. chest — a box
  24. lash — an eyelash

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