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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 120 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: file · bulb · mate · rush · capital · snap · drill · kick

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. mate — a partner
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. capital — a city
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. capital — money
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. bulb — for light
  11. drill — the tool
  12. file — a line of people
  13. kick — in football
  14. mate — a friend
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bulb — for light
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. file — a document
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. snap — to click
  21. drill — army training
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rush — hurry
  24. mate — to breed

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