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

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. hand — in cards
  3. perch — the fish
  4. capital — a city
  5. current — electric
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. row — to paddle
  8. stem — to come from
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. current — of water
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. pound — a weight
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. row — a line
  19. current — happening now
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. hand — help
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. capital — money

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