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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. capital — money
  3. can — a tin
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. cell — in biology
  6. net — after costs
  7. rash — hasty
  8. capital — a city
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bass — low music
  12. can — a tin
  13. net — in sport
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bass — the fish
  18. net — for catching
  19. kid — child
  20. rash — a series
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. can — to be able to
  23. kid — to tease
  24. rash — on the skin

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