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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. kid — to tease
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. scale — size or range
  7. cell — in biology
  8. scale — in music
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — to confront
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. mark — a grade
  19. face — part of the head
  20. capital — a city
  21. cell — a phone
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. mark — a trace

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