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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: sharp · net · season · lash · rock · hand · scale · capital

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — in sport
  5. scale — in music
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. capital — a city
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. hand — in cards
  10. net — for catching
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. capital — money
  15. scale — size or range
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rock — music
  19. sharp — clever
  20. hand — help
  21. net — in sport
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. rock — to move gently

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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