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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. stand — to bear
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. shower — to wash
  6. content — happy
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pop — soda
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. pop — to visit
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. spell — magic
  19. pop — music
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. kick — in football
  24. spell — letters

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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