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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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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. row — to paddle
  6. craft — boats
  7. kid — to tease
  8. roll — a cake
  9. capital — a city
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. kid — child
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. net — after costs
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. cell — in biology
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. cell — a phone
  18. capital — money
  19. roll — a list
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. craft — a skill
  22. net — in sport
  23. row — a line
  24. row — a quarrel

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