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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 124 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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cap — a hat
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. cap — of ice
  5. fall — to drop
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. fall — to drop
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. content — the amount
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. content — happy
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. cap — a lid
  19. rule — government
  20. capital — money
  21. fall — the season
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rule — a law
  24. trunk — of a tree

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