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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. capital — a city
  3. kick — in football
  4. pound — a weight
  5. capital — money
  6. bank — of a river
  7. present — there
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. present — a gift
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. hand — help
  14. land — to come down
  15. bank — for money
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. land — ground
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. present — the time now
  21. hand — in cards
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. bank — for money
  24. pound — for dogs

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