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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. dip — to sink
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. spring — of water
  5. chip — for betting
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bass — the fish
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. chip — to eat
  15. bass — low music
  16. spring — the season
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. spring — a coil
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a city

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