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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mine — for digging
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — for catching
  7. spring — the season
  8. capital — a city
  9. prune — to trim
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. rule — government
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. spring — of water
  15. kick — in football
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. rule — a law
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. prune — to trim
  20. net — in sport
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. spring — a coil
  24. mine — belonging to me

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