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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. season — of the year
  5. bore — to drill
  6. season — in sport
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. swing — music
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. capital — money
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bore — to tire
  14. swing — in golf
  15. cue — a signal
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. cue — a hint
  18. swing — to play on
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. kid — to tease
  21. cue — for pool
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — child
  24. mouse — for a computer

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