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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: lash · racket · bowl · date · capital · staff · chest · last

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. capital — a city
  3. last — finally
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. last — to go on
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. last — final
  11. date — the fruit
  12. staff — employees
  13. chest — a box
  14. staff — a stick
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. chest — of your body
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. staff — employees
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. chest — of your body
  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