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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. capital — money
  3. net — for catching
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kick — in football
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. cell — in biology
  8. capital — a city
  9. spring — a coil
  10. pass — a permit
  11. track — a path
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. net — in sport
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. track — to keep track
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a document
  18. track — a song
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. spring — of water
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. net — after costs
  24. spring — the season

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