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

Word bank: capital · root · lash · cell · march · fall

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. fall — to drop
  3. root — of a word
  4. fall — to drop
  5. root — of a plant
  6. march — the month
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. capital — money
  9. march — music
  10. capital — a city
  11. root — the cause
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. fall — the season
  14. cell — in biology
  15. march — the month
  16. cell — a phone
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. cell — in a prison

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