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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. kid — child
  4. clip — for paper
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. clip — to cut
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. capital — money
  10. club — for golf
  11. craft — boats
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. craft — a skill
  17. kid — to tease
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. club — a group
  20. capital — a city
  21. rash — hasty
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. clip — a video
  24. rash — a series

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