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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: ground · last · season · capital · march · fall · kick · rush

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. season — of the year
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. last — to go on
  5. fall — to drop
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. rush — hurry
  8. fall — to drop
  9. march — the month
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. last — final
  13. march — music
  14. season — in sport
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. capital — a city
  17. kick — in football
  18. ground — a position
  19. capital — money
  20. ground — the earth
  21. last — finally
  22. fall — the season
  23. ground — crushed
  24. march — the month

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