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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 116 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: hand · capital · net · season · kick · mate · charge · rock

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. charge — a price
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — in sport
  8. net — in sport
  9. kick — in football
  10. capital — money
  11. charge — electricity
  12. mate — a partner
  13. hand — help
  14. mate — a friend
  15. rock — music
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. capital — a city
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. charge — in control
  20. rock — a stone
  21. mate — to breed
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — after costs
  24. hand — in cards

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