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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. last — final
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. board — a committee
  5. object — an aim
  6. band — a ring
  7. last — finally
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. band — a music group
  10. bear — the animal
  11. capital — a city
  12. last — to go on
  13. kick — in football
  14. object — to protest
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. board — to get on
  19. capital — money
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. object — a thing
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bear — the animal

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