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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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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. squash — the sport
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. capital — a city
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bear — the animal
  12. kid — child
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bear — the animal
  15. saw — the tool
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. saw — the tool
  18. squash — to crush

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