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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. staff — a stick
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. shower — to wash
  5. capital — a city
  6. staff — employees
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. stem — to come from
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. pound — a weight
  11. shower — rain
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. bark — to shout
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. vault — a safe
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. capital — money
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. staff — employees
  24. pound — to hit hard

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