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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: capital · lash · staff · fall · race · hide · march · degree

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. race — the arms race
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. degree — an amount
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. staff — employees
  8. race — a contest
  9. capital — a city
  10. staff — employees
  11. degree — temperature
  12. fall — to drop
  13. march — the month
  14. capital — money
  15. march — music
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. race — humankind
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. fall — the season
  21. march — the month
  22. staff — a stick
  23. fall — to drop
  24. degree — from a university

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