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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: lean · kick · tear · capital · rule · band · kid · bowl

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. tear — from crying
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. capital — money
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. rule — a law
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. band — a ring
  12. lean — to bend
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kid — child
  15. kick — in football
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. lean — thin
  18. band — a music group
  19. kid — to tease
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rule — government
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. tear — to rip

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