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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: bay · capital · stem · march · bass · rush · lash · sharp

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. rush — hurry
  3. capital — a city
  4. bass — low music
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — clever
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. march — the month
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. march — the month
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. stem — to come from
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. bass — the fish
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. march — music

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