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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. club — a group
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. capital — a city
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. scale — size or range
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. file — a line of people
  10. kick — in football
  11. scale — in music
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. file — a document
  14. kid — to tease
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. kid — child
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. club — for golf
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. mark — a grade
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. file — a tool
  23. club — for dancing
  24. mark — a trace

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