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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. bat — the animal
  4. capital — money
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. pitch — completely
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. bound — obliged
  10. clip — for paper
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. clip — a video
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. plane — a tool
  22. capital — a city
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. clip — to cut

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