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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. kid — to tease
  6. spell — magic
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. spell — letters
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — in football
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. spell — a short time
  17. branch — a division
  18. pitch — completely
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. capital — money
  21. rash — a series
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. rash — hasty
  24. capital — a big letter

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