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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. net — in sport
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. net — for catching
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. game — wild animals
  10. cold — an illness
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. cold — not warm
  13. firm — decided
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. game — a match
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. net — after costs
  19. firm — steady
  20. mine — for digging
  21. kick — in football
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. firm — a company

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