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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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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: spell · march · bore · snap · capital · race · fall · lash

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  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. snap — to snap out of it
  2. capital — money
  3. bore — to drill
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. march — the month
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — a short time
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bore — to tire
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. spell — magic
  16. race — the arms race
  17. snap — to click
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. race — a contest
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. race — humankind
  22. capital — a city
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  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