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

Word bank: bore · chest · capital · pit · kick · band

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. capital — a city
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. band — a music group
  8. bore — to drill
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. chest — of your body
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. pit — a hole
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. band — a ring
  15. bore — to tire
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. capital — money

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