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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — in football
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — money
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. land — ground
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. file — a document
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. land — to come down
  15. capital — a city
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. content — the amount
  20. land — a country
  21. content — happy
  22. file — a line of people
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. content — videos and posts

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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