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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. kid — child
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. wake — a trail
  5. rest — what's left
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. capital — a city
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cold — an illness
  13. kid — to tease
  14. capital — money
  15. kick — in football
  16. rest — a break
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pitch — completely
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. rest — what's left

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