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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: root · kick · kid · racket · bore · lash · cold · capital

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. bore — to drill
  3. root — of a word
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kick — in football
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. capital — money
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. capital — a city
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. bore — to tire
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. root — of a plant
  16. cold — an illness
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — child
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. root — the cause

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