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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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. hand — part of the body
  4. bear — the animal
  5. kid — child
  6. cue — a hint
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. perch — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. cue — a signal
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. hand — in cards
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. swing — music
  20. capital — money
  21. cue — for pool
  22. bear — the animal
  23. hand — help
  24. capital — a big letter

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