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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: chair · plane · wave · capital · rule · mate · lash · swing

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. mate — a partner
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. swing — to play on
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. swing — music
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. mate — a friend
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. capital — a city
  14. mate — to breed
  15. rule — government
  16. plane — a tool
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. swing — in golf
  20. chair — a leader
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. rule — a law

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