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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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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 · snap · season · present · mouse · capital · fall · spell

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. fall — to drop
  4. spell — letters
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — there
  7. capital — money
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — in football
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. season — of the year
  14. capital — a city
  15. spell — magic
  16. present — the time now
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. fall — to drop
  19. snap — to click
  20. fall — the season
  21. season — in sport
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. spell — a short time
  24. mouse — the animal

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