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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — the animal
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. staff — employees
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. capital — a city
  9. hand — help
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. capital — money
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. spell — a short time
  15. mug — to rob
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bat — the animal
  18. staff — a stick
  19. staff — employees
  20. mug — a face
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. spell — magic
  23. mug — a cup
  24. spell — letters

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