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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: stick · cell · capital · tube · spell · fan · kick · race

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. cell — in biology
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. spell — magic
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. race — a contest
  12. tube — a container
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. capital — a city
  15. tube — the underground
  16. spell — letters
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. race — humankind
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cell — a phone
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — with a leg

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