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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 116 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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bear — the animal
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. row — to paddle
  6. band — a ring
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rule — a law
  11. bear — the animal
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rule — government
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. season — in sport
  18. band — a music group
  19. season — of the year
  20. capital — a city
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — money

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