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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kick · plane · fall · club · capital · press

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. press — to push
  3. club — for dancing
  4. fall — the season
  5. press — a publisher
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. plane — a tool
  11. club — a group
  12. fall — to drop
  13. kick — in football
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. fall — to drop
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. press — newspapers
  18. club — for golf

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