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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 124 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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — in football
  3. capital — money
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. scale — size or range
  9. bound — certain
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. bound — obliged
  13. foot — a measure
  14. sharp — clever
  15. bound — tied together
  16. rest — what's left
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. stand — to bear
  19. capital — a city
  20. rest — a break
  21. scale — in music
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. rest — what's left

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