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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. capital — a city
  4. kick — in football
  5. capital — money
  6. mug — to rob
  7. rule — government
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. rule — a law
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mug — a cup
  17. degree — temperature
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — in sport
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. rule — to rule out

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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