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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bat — the animal
  5. capital — a city
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. present — a gift
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. present — the time now
  11. present — there
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. capital — money
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. deal — to handle
  18. kid — to tease
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. band — a music group
  21. kid — child
  22. band — a ring
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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