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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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468
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: kick · row · foot · leaves · spring · capital · rash · pitch

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a city
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. spring — a coil
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. rash — hasty
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. kick — in football
  11. pitch — completely
  12. spring — of water
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — a line
  16. rash — a series
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. foot — a measure
  21. row — to paddle
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. spring — the season
  24. pitch — a sports field

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