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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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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: spring · arm · capital · shower · roll · staff · mug · kick

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. spring — of water
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. roll — a cake
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. staff — a stick
  7. shower — rain
  8. capital — a city
  9. mug — a face
  10. staff — employees
  11. spring — a coil
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. roll — a list
  14. staff — employees
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. kick — in football
  17. mug — a cup
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. mug — to rob
  22. spring — the season
  23. shower — to wash
  24. capital — money

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