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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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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: lean · capital · date · toast · lash · net · spring · staff

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. staff — a stick
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. toast — bread
  6. lean — to bend
  7. capital — a city
  8. net — after costs
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. date — the fruit
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. net — in sport
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. staff — employees
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. net — for catching
  22. staff — employees
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. date — on the calendar

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