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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. present — there
  3. capital — a city
  4. ball — a dance
  5. shower — rain
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — a gift
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. root — the cause
  11. ball — a great time
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. root — of a word
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — to wash
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. root — of a plant
  20. kick — in football
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. capital — money
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. kick — a thrill

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