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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: cap · can · craft · capital · spring · arm · lash · pound

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. spring — the season
  4. capital — a city
  5. craft — boats
  6. pound — a weight
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. capital — money
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. cap — a hat
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. can — a tin
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. spring — of water
  16. can — to be able to
  17. spring — a coil
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. cap — of ice
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. craft — a skill
  23. can — a tin
  24. cap — a lid

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