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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cap — a lid
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. kid — to tease
  5. rash — hasty
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. pitch — completely
  10. land — ground
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. cap — of ice
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. capital — a city
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. kid — child
  17. saw — the tool
  18. land — to come down
  19. rash — a series
  20. cap — a hat
  21. land — a country
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. capital — money
  24. saw — the tool

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