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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 120 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: calf · bowl · chip · lash · straw · dip · capital · court

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. capital — a city
  4. court — of law
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. capital — money
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. court — of a king
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. court — for sport
  15. chip — to eat
  16. dip — to sink
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. capital — a big letter

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