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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for dancing
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. content — happy
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. capital — a city
  10. cell — a phone
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. content — the amount
  13. capital — money
  14. object — a thing
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. kid — to tease
  17. perch — the fish
  18. club — for golf
  19. cell — in biology
  20. kid — child
  21. object — an aim
  22. object — to protest
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. wave — of the sea

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