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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — in sport
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bulb — for light
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. capital — money
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — in football
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. net — after costs
  21. capital — a city
  22. pound — a weight
  23. chip — to eat
  24. chip — for betting

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