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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. toast — bread
  4. court — for sport
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. lean — to bend
  7. track — a path
  8. track — to keep track
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. cold — not warm
  11. capital — money
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. kick — in football
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. court — of law
  18. track — a song
  19. fine — high quality
  20. lean — thin
  21. court — of a king
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fine — all right
  24. capital — a city

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