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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. wind — moving air
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. object — to protest
  5. capital — a city
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. kid — child
  8. capital — money
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. stand — to bear
  11. kid — to tease
  12. object — a thing
  13. pit — a hole
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. row — a line
  17. row — to paddle
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — crushed
  20. object — an aim
  21. pit — in a race
  22. ground — the earth
  23. wind — moving air
  24. row — a quarrel

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