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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: craft · chest · capital · lash · game · face · bore · spring

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. spring — the season
  4. craft — a skill
  5. chest — of your body
  6. spring — of water
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bore — to tire
  9. face — part of the head
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. game — a match
  12. craft — boats
  13. bore — to drill
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. face — to confront
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. game — wild animals
  21. capital — a city
  22. chest — a box
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. face — to point toward

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