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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. kid — to tease
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. degree — from a university
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. degree — temperature
  8. capital — money
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. kid — child
  11. object — an aim
  12. spell — magic
  13. object — to protest
  14. spell — a short time
  15. capital — a city
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. degree — an amount
  18. spell — letters
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. object — a thing
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — a weight

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