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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: ruler · capital · rest · cold · chest · plane · lash · club

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rest — what's left
  5. capital — a city
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cold — not warm
  9. chest — of your body
  10. club — a group
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cold — an illness
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. plane — a tool
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. rest — a break
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. capital — money
  22. club — for golf
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. club — for dancing

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