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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. season — of the year
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. tube — the underground
  11. dip — to sink
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. scale — size or range
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. season — in sport
  21. scale — in music
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. tube — a container

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