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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. field — for sport
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. drill — army training
  6. capital — a city
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — a series
  9. kick — in football
  10. field — farmland
  11. kid — child
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. drill — a practice
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. field — a subject
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. kid — to tease
  19. tube — the underground
  20. drill — the tool
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. tube — a container
  24. capital — money

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