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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 120 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. capital — money
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. rest — what's left
  10. mate — a partner
  11. pit — in a race
  12. mate — to breed
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. pit — a hole
  17. kid — to tease
  18. rest — a break
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. deal — to handle
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. rest — what's left
  24. mate — a friend

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