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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. capital — money
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. wound — an injury
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wound — an injury
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. rash — a series
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. toast — bread
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. shower — rain
  17. stem — to come from
  18. rash — hasty
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — to confront
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. capital — a city

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