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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. bound — certain
  4. capital — a city
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. net — for catching
  7. capital — money
  8. fine — high quality
  9. net — after costs
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. clip — a video
  14. net — in sport
  15. rule — government
  16. fine — all right
  17. rule — a law
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — tied together
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — for paper

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