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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. mine — for digging
  3. rush — hurry
  4. capital — money
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. capital — a city
  22. perch — the fish
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. ruler — for measuring

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