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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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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: arm · capital · lash · hide · racket · chair · craft · tear

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. chair — a leader
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. craft — a skill
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. tear — to rip
  14. craft — boats
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. tear — from crying
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. tear — from crying
  24. chair — to sit on

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