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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  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. snap — to snap out of it
  2. capital — a city
  3. charge — electricity
  4. charge — a price
  5. kid — to tease
  6. stand — to bear
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. squash — to crush
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. court — for sport
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. snap — to click
  14. kid — child
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bear — the animal
  17. squash — the sport
  18. charge — in control
  19. court — of a king
  20. bear — the animal
  21. court — of law
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. squash — the vegetable
  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