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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. kid — child
  3. charge — a price
  4. charge — in control
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. toast — bread
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. club — for golf
  11. charge — electricity
  12. squash — to crush
  13. date — the fruit
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. club — a group
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. capital — a city
  19. kid — to tease
  20. squash — the sport
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. shower — rain
  24. date — on the calendar

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