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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for dancing
  5. land — ground
  6. capital — a city
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. land — to come down
  11. stock — shares
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. wake — a trail
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. land — a country
  17. hand — help
  18. capital — money
  19. hand — in cards
  20. club — for golf
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. stock — goods
  24. wake — before a funeral

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