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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. spell — letters
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. cap — of ice
  7. game — a match
  8. march — the month
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cap — a hat
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. cap — a lid
  18. game — wild animals
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — soda
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — with a leg

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