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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. capital — money
  4. pitch — completely
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. hand — in cards
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. chair — a leader
  19. hand — help
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. wind — moving air
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — a city
  24. ruler — a monarch

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