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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. net — after costs
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. capital — money
  7. mark — a grade
  8. net — in sport
  9. mark — a trace
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. cell — a phone
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — the fish
  16. capital — a city
  17. net — for catching
  18. cell — in biology
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. lash — to lash out

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