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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 120 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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. scale — in music
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. rule — a law
  8. club — for golf
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rule — government
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. foot — a measure
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — money
  17. club — a group
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. spell — a short time
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — magic

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