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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. deal — to handle
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. wound — an injury
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. capital — a city
  12. root — of a plant
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. root — of a word
  15. stock — shares
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wound — an injury
  19. root — the cause
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. stock — goods
  22. capital — money
  23. cold — an illness
  24. stock — a soup base

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