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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. fork — in a road
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. snap — to click
  6. current — happening now
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. march — the month
  10. current — electric
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. pound — a weight
  15. bass — the fish
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. capital — money
  20. kick — in football
  21. current — of water
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. capital — a city
  24. bass — low music

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