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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: branch · capital · rule · kid · ground · foot · kick · spring

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. foot — a measure
  3. ground — a position
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. kick — in football
  10. rule — government
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. spring — of water
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. ground — the earth
  16. branch — a division
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — a law
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — the season
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — money
  23. ground — crushed
  24. branch — of a tree

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