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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. wind — moving air
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. spring — of water
  10. rest — what's left
  11. capital — money
  12. spring — the season
  13. press — newspapers
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. press — a publisher
  18. capital — a city
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. press — to push
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. rest — a break
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bat — the animal

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