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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. capital — a city
  4. rest — a break
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. march — the month
  8. rest — what's left
  9. sharp — clever
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. march — music
  16. chair — a leader
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. rest — what's left
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. march — the month
  23. capital — money
  24. lash — to lash out

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