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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. band — a ring
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. shower — rain
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mate — a partner
  8. capital — money
  9. band — a music group
  10. capital — a city
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. mate — to breed
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. shower — to wash
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. rush — hurry
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. mate — a friend
  24. wound — an injury

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