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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: snap · court · capital · face · kick · lash · cue · hand

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. capital — a city
  3. court — of law
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. face — to confront
  6. court — for sport
  7. hand — help
  8. kick — in football
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. face — to point toward
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. cue — a hint
  15. court — of a king
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. snap — to click
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. hand — in cards
  20. capital — money
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. face — part of the head
  24. cue — a signal

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