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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — in football
  3. root — the cause
  4. capital — money
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. degree — from a university
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. root — of a word
  9. capital — a city
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pit — in a race
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. root — of a plant
  15. chip — for betting
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pit — a hole

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