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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. suit — to fit
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. cell — a phone
  6. court — for sport
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. suit — in cards
  9. court — of law
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bound — tied together
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. suit — clothes
  16. cell — in biology
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. court — of a king
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. bound — obliged
  22. capital — a city
  23. drill — army training
  24. bound — certain

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