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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 120 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. prune — to trim
  3. kid — to tease
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — money
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. chip — for betting
  9. pop — soda
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. pop — to visit
  12. object — to protest
  13. last — finally
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. last — final
  17. object — an aim
  18. pop — music
  19. kid — child
  20. capital — a city
  21. last — to go on
  22. chip — to eat
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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