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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. ground — the earth
  3. saw — the tool
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. fall — to drop
  8. capital — money
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. tube — a container
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. date — the fruit
  14. wound — an injury
  15. tube — the underground
  16. ground — crushed
  17. fall — the season
  18. capital — a city
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. fall — to drop
  21. ground — a position
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. tube — in a tire

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