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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. kid — to tease
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. dip — to sink
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. capital — money
  13. court — of a king
  14. hand — in cards
  15. kid — child
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. field — for sport
  19. capital — a city
  20. field — farmland
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. hand — help

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