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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. drill — army training
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. wound — an injury
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. root — of a word
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. capital — money
  15. drill — the tool
  16. ball — a dance
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a plant
  19. wound — an injury
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. capital — a city
  24. drill — a practice

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