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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 · stem · tear · chair · lash · temple · wind · rock

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. tear — from crying
  5. capital — money
  6. rock — a stone
  7. wind — moving air
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. tear — from crying
  11. chair — a leader
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — to come from
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. rock — music
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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