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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 120 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: lash · coach · land · racket · snap · capital · fall · face

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. face — to confront
  3. fall — the season
  4. land — a country
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. face — part of the head
  8. snap — to click
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. fall — to drop
  11. land — ground
  12. face — to point toward
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. land — to come down
  18. capital — a city
  19. fall — to drop
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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