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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: tube · bat · rash · capital · stem · current · lash · squash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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. rash — hasty
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. current — happening now
  6. squash — to crush
  7. tube — a container
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. capital — a city
  11. rash — a series
  12. tube — the underground
  13. capital — money
  14. current — electric
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. current — of water
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. squash — the sport
  23. bat — the animal
  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