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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. mate — a friend
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. row — a line
  5. roll — a list
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — a match
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. row — to paddle
  11. mate — a partner
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bank — of a river
  19. bank — for money
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. lean — to bend
  22. lean — thin
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bank — for money

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