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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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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: firm · kick · club · fan · fall · kid · capital · rest

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. firm — decided
  3. fall — to drop
  4. club — for golf
  5. fall — to drop
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. capital — money
  8. kid — child
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. firm — steady
  11. kid — to tease
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. club — a group
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. rest — a break
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. capital — a city
  22. firm — a company
  23. kick — in football
  24. fall — the season

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