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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — a city
  3. kid — to tease
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — for sport
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. capital — money
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. chip — to eat
  11. band — a ring
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. kid — child
  14. band — a music group
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. chip — for betting
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. prune — the fruit

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