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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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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: kick · lean · bat · bowl · spell · arm · capital · object

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. object — to protest
  3. kick — in football
  4. spell — letters
  5. bat — the animal
  6. spell — magic
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. object — a thing
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. capital — a city
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. lean — to bend
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. object — an aim
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — money

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