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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a trace
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. capital — a city
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. firm — steady
  13. saw — the tool
  14. clip — a video
  15. mark — a grade
  16. firm — a company
  17. rock — music
  18. clip — for paper
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. saw — the tool
  21. firm — decided
  22. kick — in football
  23. rock — a stone
  24. capital — money

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