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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. roll — a cake
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. present — there
  6. capital — a city
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. present — a gift
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. content — happy
  12. cold — not warm
  13. present — the time now
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. roll — a list
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. content — the amount
  18. cold — an illness
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. branch — a division
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. capital — money
  24. content — videos and posts

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