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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. capital — a city
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. fall — to drop
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kid — to tease
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. snap — to click
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — to be able to
  15. cue — a signal
  16. mine — for digging
  17. can — a tin
  18. cue — a hint
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. cue — for pool
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. kid — child

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