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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. capital — a city
  3. bound — tied together
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bound — obliged
  6. craft — a skill
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. date — the fruit
  10. rule — a law
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bound — certain
  13. craft — boats
  14. bulb — for light
  15. rule — government
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. capital — money
  20. kid — child
  21. bulb — for light
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. date — on the calendar

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