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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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468
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 · face · fall · racket · chip · rush · bass · capital

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — in football
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. rush — hurry
  10. face — to point toward
  11. chip — to eat
  12. fall — the season
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. face — to confront
  15. chip — for betting
  16. face — part of the head
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the fish
  19. capital — money
  20. fall — to drop
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. kick — with a leg

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