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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. fall — to drop
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. fall — the season
  6. capital — a city
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for dancing
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. kick — in football
  11. club — for golf
  12. net — after costs
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. mug — to rob
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. mug — a face
  18. mug — a cup
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. capital — money
  22. fall — to drop
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — for catching

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