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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. staff — a stick
  3. capital — money
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. tube — a container
  6. staff — employees
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. club — for dancing
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. kid — child
  14. rush — hurry
  15. club — for golf
  16. scale — in music
  17. kid — to tease
  18. tube — the underground
  19. staff — employees
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. club — a group
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. scale — size or range

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