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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — music
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — in football
  9. bulb — for light
  10. land — a country
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. shower — to wash
  13. capital — money
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. land — to come down
  16. bulb — for light
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. pop — to visit
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. shower — rain
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. lash — an eyelash

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