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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 120 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. row — a line
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. game — wild animals
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bound — obliged
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. game — a match
  12. row — to paddle
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bound — tied together
  15. chair — a leader
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. craft — a skill
  23. bound — certain
  24. craft — boats

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