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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: pound · capital · wave · bat · lash · field · dip · staff

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pound — a weight
  4. staff — employees
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. capital — a city
  9. field — farmland
  10. staff — employees
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. dip — to sink
  17. staff — a stick
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. capital — money
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. pound — to hit hard

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