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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 120 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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. present — the time now
  8. tear — from crying
  9. spell — magic
  10. tear — from crying
  11. capital — a city
  12. kick — in football
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. spell — letters
  15. wake — a trail
  16. chip — for betting
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. present — a gift
  19. spell — a short time
  20. capital — money
  21. chip — to eat
  22. present — there
  23. tear — to rip
  24. capital — a big letter

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