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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. file — a tool
  3. capital — money
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. chest — of your body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bulb — for light
  14. chest — a box
  15. wind — moving air
  16. swing — in golf
  17. bulb — for light
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. file — a document
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — music
  22. chest — of your body
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. arm — part of the body

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