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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. cap — of ice
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. kid — child
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. file — a tool
  9. staff — employees
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. file — a line of people
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — money
  17. file — a document
  18. cap — a lid
  19. staff — a stick
  20. snap — to click
  21. kid — to tease
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. staff — employees
  24. cap — a hat

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