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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: temple · lash · capital · game · snap · lean · cold · present

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. game — wild animals
  3. lean — to bend
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. present — a gift
  6. snap — to click
  7. capital — a city
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. cold — an illness
  15. lean — thin
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. cold — not warm
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. capital — money
  22. game — a match
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. present — there

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