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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. spring — of water
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. capital — a city
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pitch — completely
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. spring — a coil
  11. fine — high quality
  12. capital — money
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. pit — a hole
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. wax — to grow
  20. spring — the season
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. pit — in a race
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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