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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. lean — thin
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. spring — the season
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. lean — to bend
  10. capital — money
  11. file — a document
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. spring — of water
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. capital — a city
  18. file — a line of people
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. spring — a coil
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. file — a tool
  24. deal — to handle

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