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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: ruler · capital · arm · pound · spell · game · branch · kick

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. 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. pound — for dogs
  2. spell — magic
  3. game — a match
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. capital — a city
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. kick — in football
  14. pound — a weight
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — letters
  23. game — wild animals
  24. 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