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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. capital — money
  3. spring — the season
  4. chest — a box
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. chest — of your body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. fall — the season
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. capital — a city
  13. race — the arms race
  14. spring — a coil
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rock — a stone
  17. spring — of water
  18. chest — of your body
  19. race — humankind
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. race — a contest
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fall — to drop

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