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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 116 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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. swing — to play on
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. rest — what's left
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — to get on
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. spell — a short time
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. capital — a city
  14. spell — letters
  15. ball — a dance
  16. swing — music
  17. rest — what's left
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. swing — in golf
  21. capital — money
  22. rest — a break
  23. ball — a great time
  24. board — a flat piece

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