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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mug — a cup
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. kick — in football
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. mug — a face
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. land — a country
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a city
  21. branch — a division
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mug — to rob
  24. mine — an explosive

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