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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. kick — in football
  3. ball — a dance
  4. cap — a hat
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. capital — money
  7. mate — to breed
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. clip — to cut
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — after costs
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. net — in sport
  14. track — to keep track
  15. track — a song
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mate — a partner
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — a video
  21. ball — a great time
  22. cap — of ice
  23. track — a path
  24. capital — a city

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