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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. object — to protest
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. march — the month
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. hand — in cards
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. hand — help
  14. object — a thing
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. march — music
  17. kick — in football
  18. rush — hurry
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. object — an aim
  21. march — the month
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — money
  24. dip — to sink

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