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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. rash — a series
  4. chest — a box
  5. cap — a lid
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. roll — a list
  8. chest — of your body
  9. capital — a city
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. cap — of ice
  13. roll — a cake
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. deal — to handle
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cap — a hat
  19. field — for sport
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. rash — hasty
  23. capital — money
  24. deal — a big deal

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