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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
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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: mine · kick · craft · track · pop · rash · capital · present

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. pop — soda
  5. track — a path
  6. pop — music
  7. present — a gift
  8. craft — a skill
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. rash — hasty
  12. craft — boats
  13. pop — to visit
  14. track — to keep track
  15. rash — a series
  16. capital — money
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. present — there
  19. kick — in football
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — a city
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. present — the time now
  24. track — a song

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