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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: capital · kick · ground · hide · pit · chair

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. hide — to keep secret
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. pit — a hole
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. ground — a position
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. kick — in football
  10. pit — in a race
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. ground — the earth
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. capital — a city
  16. chair — a leader
  17. ground — crushed
  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