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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. suit — to fit
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. suit — clothes
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. board — to get on
  10. content — happy
  11. saw — the tool
  12. board — a committee
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. suit — in cards
  15. content — the amount
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a city
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. kid — to tease
  24. mine — for digging

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