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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wound — an injury
  7. lean — thin
  8. wind — moving air
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. lean — to bend
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. cell — a phone
  15. suit — clothes
  16. suit — in cards
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fork — in a road
  19. suit — to fit
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. capital — money
  22. wound — an injury
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. cell — in biology

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