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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. capital — money
  5. can — to be able to
  6. ground — a position
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. plane — a tool
  9. capital — a city
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. ground — the earth
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — to come from
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. can — a tin
  17. ground — crushed
  18. can — a tin
  19. shower — to wash
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. shower — rain

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