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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 120 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: chest · row · capital · fan · race · bay · kick · bear

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. bear — the animal
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. race — the arms race
  11. chest — a box
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. row — a line
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — humankind
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bear — the animal
  22. kick — in football
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fan — a supporter

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