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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. track — to keep track
  3. capital — money
  4. kick — in football
  5. track — a song
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. track — a path
  10. spring — of water
  11. fork — in a road
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. staff — a stick
  14. spring — the season
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kid — child
  17. spring — a coil
  18. kid — to tease
  19. staff — employees
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. capital — a city
  22. chair — a leader
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. staff — employees

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