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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bore — to tire
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. current — electric
  5. kid — child
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bore — to drill
  9. capital — money
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — shares
  13. key — in music
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. key — the most important part
  16. capital — a city
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. current — happening now
  19. chair — a leader
  20. current — of water
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. key — for a lock
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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