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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. row — to paddle
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — to visit
  9. capital — money
  10. club — a group
  11. capital — a city
  12. rest — what's left
  13. club — for golf
  14. object — a thing
  15. rest — what's left
  16. kick — in football
  17. club — for dancing
  18. pop — music
  19. wound — an injury
  20. object — to protest
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — a line
  23. rest — a break
  24. object — an aim

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