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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 124 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. roll — a list
  3. land — ground
  4. roll — a cake
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. foot — a measure
  7. capital — money
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. kick — in football
  10. shower — rain
  11. pitch — completely
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — a country
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. shower — to wash
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. capital — a city
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. wound — an injury

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