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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. present — a gift
  4. capital — a city
  5. plane — a tool
  6. capital — money
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. march — the month
  9. bat — the animal
  10. present — the time now
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — part of the head
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. face — to confront
  16. wound — an injury
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. present — there
  24. wound — an injury

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