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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. hand — in cards
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. hand — help
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. chip — for betting
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bulb — for light
  18. saw — the tool
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bulb — for light
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. chip — to eat
  23. capital — money
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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