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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rock — a stone
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. band — a ring
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. firm — steady
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — a trail
  12. capital — money
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rock — music
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. firm — a company
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. field — farmland
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. firm — decided
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — temperature
  24. lash — to lash out

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