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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: game · capital · mug · kick · safe · wind · season · bark

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wind — moving air
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — money
  7. game — wild animals
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. game — a match
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mug — a cup
  16. mug — a face
  17. kick — in football
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. bark — to shout
  22. season — of the year
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. safe — out of danger

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