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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 120 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: wound · capital · lie · wake · lash · nail · bore · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. capital — a city
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bore — to drill
  12. wake — a trail
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bore — to tire
  16. wound — an injury
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. capital — money
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. nail — on a finger

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