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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. rest — what's left
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. rest — what's left
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. roll — a cake
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — in football
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mark — a trace
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. ball — a dance
  18. wax — to grow
  19. roll — a list
  20. row — to paddle
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. row — a line
  24. rest — a break

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