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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. ball — a great time
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. ball — a dance
  7. capital — a city
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. pass — a permit
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cold — an illness
  18. kick — in football
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. capital — money
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. rush — hurry

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