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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: jam · capital · rest · wound · mine · season · straw · lash

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. rest — a break
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. capital — money
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. capital — a city
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. season — of the year
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. rest — what's left
  21. season — in sport
  22. mine — for digging
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wound — an injury

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