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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: lie · content · club · kick · capital · stick

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. lie — to recline
  3. capital — a city
  4. content — the amount
  5. club — for dancing
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. club — a group
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. capital — money
  13. kick — in football
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. club — for golf
  18. capital — a big letter

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