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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. can — to be able to
  6. fall — to drop
  7. kid — child
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. club — for golf
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. club — a group
  12. can — a tin
  13. capital — money
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. hand — in cards
  16. fall — the season
  17. can — a tin
  18. club — for dancing
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. hand — help
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. kid — to tease
  23. capital — a city
  24. fall — to drop

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