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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: chip · kick · lash · capital · field · lie · branch · spring

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. chip — to eat
  3. field — for sport
  4. chip — for betting
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. spring — a coil
  9. branch — a division
  10. kick — in football
  11. lie — to recline
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. field — farmland
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — of water
  23. field — a subject
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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