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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. date — the fruit
  5. track — a path
  6. track — to keep track
  7. kid — child
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. track — a song
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. wind — moving air
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. kid — to tease
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. arm — part of the body

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