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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 120 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: kick · pound · wind · capital · mine · hide · mate · arm

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mate — a friend
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mate — a partner
  10. capital — a city
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. mate — to breed
  13. pound — a weight
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. capital — money
  22. wind — moving air
  23. kick — in football
  24. pound — to hit hard

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