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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cap — a lid
  3. bound — tied together
  4. rock — a stone
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. rock — music
  9. bound — certain
  10. hand — in cards
  11. kid — child
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. capital — a city
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. bound — obliged
  16. capital — money
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cap — of ice
  19. hand — help
  20. kid — to tease
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. chip — to eat
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. chip — for betting

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