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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — help
  4. capital — money
  5. club — for dancing
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cold — not warm
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. club — a group
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bear — the animal
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. deal — to handle
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. club — for golf
  20. bear — the animal
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. cold — the Cold War

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