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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 second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wound — an injury
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. swing — to play on
  6. game — a match
  7. wound — an injury
  8. capital — a city
  9. swing — in golf
  10. object — an aim
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. swing — music
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. game — wild animals
  16. row — to paddle
  17. deal — to handle
  18. object — a thing
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. row — a line
  22. object — to protest
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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