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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · lash · capital · rule · season · row · stick · spell

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. row — a line
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — magic
  6. hand — help
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. rule — a law
  14. spell — letters
  15. season — in sport
  16. hand — in cards
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. capital — a city
  19. season — of the year
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. capital — money
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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