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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. file — a tool
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. root — of a word
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bound — obliged
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. capital — a city
  11. root — of a plant
  12. file — a line of people
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. wind — moving air
  17. file — a document
  18. snap — to click
  19. bound — certain
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. root — the cause
  23. wind — moving air
  24. last — final

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