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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. ball — a dance
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. pit — a hole
  6. mark — a grade
  7. last — final
  8. capital — money
  9. last — to go on
  10. object — a thing
  11. pit — in a race
  12. row — to paddle
  13. object — an aim
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. object — to protest
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. capital — a city
  18. ball — a great time
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. mark — a trace
  21. row — a line
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. last — finally
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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