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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 120 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — the underground
  4. wound — an injury
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. stem — to come from
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — a city
  12. rest — what's left
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rest — a break
  17. rest — what's left
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. chest — a box
  21. capital — money
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. stem — a stem cell

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