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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. cap — a lid
  4. clip — to cut
  5. capital — a city
  6. press — a publisher
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — wild animals
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. cap — of ice
  13. capital — money
  14. press — to push
  15. clip — a video
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. press — newspapers
  19. cap — a hat
  20. clip — for paper
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. game — a match
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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