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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. capital — money
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. season — of the year
  11. track — a path
  12. rash — a series
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. swing — to play on
  16. track — to keep track
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. season — in sport
  20. rash — hasty
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — music
  23. kick — in football
  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