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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: cold · lie · deal · kick · fork · capital

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. capital — money
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. fork — in a road
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. kick — in football
  13. cold — an illness
  14. lie — to recline
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. deal — to handle
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. fork — a garden tool

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