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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: bay · bowl · spring · cold · rush · bat · kick · capital

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. kick — in football
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. spring — of water
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. bat — the animal
  17. capital — a city
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. spring — the season
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rush — hurry
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bowl — a dish

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