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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 124 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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Word bank
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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. rash — a series
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. capital — a city
  6. root — of a word
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — a phone
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pit — a hole
  11. root — of a plant
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. capital — money
  15. kid — child
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. root — the cause
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — the fruit
  20. pit — in a race
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rash — on the skin

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