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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. capital — money
  3. kid — to tease
  4. deal — to handle
  5. root — of a word
  6. kid — child
  7. race — humankind
  8. row — a line
  9. race — a contest
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a plant
  17. row — to paddle
  18. race — the arms race

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