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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. craft — boats
  3. kid — to tease
  4. sharp — clever
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. mate — to breed
  7. chair — a leader
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. capital — money
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. mate — a partner
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. mate — a friend
  21. kid — child
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. craft — a skill

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