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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 116 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: cap · perch · spell · stock · bore · capital · kid · lash

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bore — to tire
  3. kid — to tease
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. kid — child
  6. spell — letters
  7. capital — money
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. spell — magic
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — of ice
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. capital — a city
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. bore — to drill
  17. perch — the fish
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — shares
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. cap — a hat
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. spell — a short time
  24. lash — an eyelash

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