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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. net — in sport
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. board — a committee
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — a contest
  9. capital — money
  10. race — the arms race
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. net — for catching
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. sharp — clever
  17. net — after costs
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — goods
  20. kid — to tease
  21. capital — a city
  22. board — to get on
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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