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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. prune — to trim
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. march — the month
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. game — wild animals
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. march — the month
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. kick — in football
  13. capital — money
  14. current — electric
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. current — happening now
  18. game — a match
  19. capital — a city
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. march — music
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. current — of water

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