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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 124 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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. row — a line
  4. bat — the animal
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. can — a tin
  7. capital — a city
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. snap — to click
  10. row — to paddle
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chip — for betting
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. chip — to eat
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. kick — in football
  19. capital — money
  20. prune — to trim
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. can — to be able to
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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