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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rock — music
  5. capital — money
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. rash — a series
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. shower — to wash
  12. chair — a leader
  13. row — to paddle
  14. rock — a stone
  15. row — a line
  16. rash — hasty
  17. shower — rain
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — a weight
  21. capital — a city
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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