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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 116 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. land — ground
  3. prune — to trim
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. prune — to trim
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. capital — a city
  15. object — an aim
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. object — to protest
  18. cell — a phone
  19. land — a country
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. kick — in football
  22. capital — money
  23. land — to come down
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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