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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · stock · lash · kick · capital · cell

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. cell — in biology
  4. spring — the season
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. spring — a coil
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. spring — of water
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. stock — goods
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. stock — shares
  16. kick — in football
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. kick — a thrill

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