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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. suit — clothes
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. kid — to tease
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. kid — child
  7. capital — a city
  8. stem — to come from
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. season — in sport
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. season — of the year
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. suit — to fit
  15. suit — in cards
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. capital — money
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. snap — to click
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. nail — on a finger

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