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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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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. land — to come down
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. land — a country
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. deal — to handle
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. toast — bread
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. capital — money
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. capital — a city
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. craft — boats
  21. craft — a skill
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. land — ground
  24. craft — a handicraft

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