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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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. lean — to rest against
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. root — of a word
  4. chip — for betting
  5. drill — army training
  6. dip — to sink
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. kid — to tease
  11. capital — a city
  12. lean — thin
  13. chip — to eat
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. drill — a practice
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. lean — to bend
  18. kid — child
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — the cause
  22. drill — the tool
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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