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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. tear — to rip
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. rash — a series
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. mug — a face
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. capital — money
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mug — to rob
  15. capital — a city
  16. mug — a cup
  17. rash — hasty
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pit — in a race
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. cold — not warm
  24. tear — from crying

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