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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mark — a grade
  3. kid — to tease
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. last — finally
  6. chair — a leader
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. capital — a city
  9. charge — electricity
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — final
  12. charge — in control
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mark — a trace
  16. capital — money
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. charge — a price
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. cold — an illness
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. chair — to sit on

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