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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. capital — money
  3. pit — a hole
  4. kick — in football
  5. chest — of your body
  6. fork — in a road
  7. capital — a city
  8. field — farmland
  9. chest — a box
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rush — hurry
  13. field — a subject
  14. mug — to rob
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. pit — in a race
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. mug — a cup
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. chest — of your body
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. field — for sport
  23. mug — a face
  24. fork — to eat with

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