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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. wake — a trail
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. capital — money
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. net — for catching
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. bat — the animal
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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