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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 120 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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. pit — a hole
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. kid — child
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — a hat
  9. capital — a city
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. wake — a trail
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cap — of ice
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pit — in a race
  17. kid — to tease
  18. lean — thin
  19. rash — a series
  20. capital — money
  21. lean — to bend
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. wound — an injury
  24. rash — hasty

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