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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. last — finally
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. charge — a price
  9. capital — a city
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. kid — to tease
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. shower — rain
  15. present — a gift
  16. present — the time now
  17. kid — child
  18. shower — to wash
  19. charge — in control
  20. capital — money
  21. last — final
  22. last — to go on
  23. charge — electricity
  24. present — there

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