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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. game — wild animals
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. present — the time now
  5. toast — bread
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. chair — a leader
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. present — there
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. present — a gift
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. capital — a city
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. snap — to click
  23. game — a match
  24. capital — money

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