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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a city
  4. hand — help
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. land — a country
  7. hand — in cards
  8. land — ground
  9. kid — child
  10. bulb — for light
  11. land — to come down
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. kid — to tease
  16. board — to get on
  17. bulb — for light
  18. board — a committee

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