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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: capital · mine · stock · rest · fan · lash · court · saw

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. capital — money
  3. court — of a king
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. court — of law
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. mine — for digging
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. rest — what's left
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. court — for sport
  16. stock — goods
  17. rest — a break
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. stock — shares
  20. rest — what's left
  21. saw — the tool
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. saw — the tool
  24. capital — a city

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