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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — in music
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. season — of the year
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. capital — a city
  12. kid — to tease
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. chip — for betting
  16. capital — money
  17. shower — rain
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. kid — child
  21. shower — to wash
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. chip — to eat
  24. season — in sport

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