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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: deal · capital · wave · chest · pitcher · cell · lash · board

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. capital — a city
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. board — to get on
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. deal — to handle
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cell — in biology
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. cell — a phone
  24. chest — of your body

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