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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. kid — to tease
  5. firm — a company
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — a phone
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a line of people
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. dip — to sink
  18. firm — steady
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. file — a document
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. firm — decided

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