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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  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. capital — a city
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. fork — in a road
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. craft — boats
  6. court — of law
  7. firm — a company
  8. board — a committee
  9. firm — decided
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. board — to get on
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — to tease
  16. hand — in cards
  17. firm — steady
  18. court — for sport
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. hand — help
  21. craft — a skill
  22. court — of a king
  23. board — a flat piece
  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