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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. club — a group
  5. club — for dancing
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. hand — in cards
  8. spring — the season
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. fall — the season
  11. hand — help
  12. squash — to crush
  13. fall — to drop
  14. capital — a city
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. club — for golf
  20. squash — the sport
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. fall — to drop
  23. capital — money
  24. kick — in football

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