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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. club — for dancing
  4. club — a group
  5. bat — the animal
  6. net — after costs
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. suit — in cards
  9. hand — in cards
  10. kid — child
  11. capital — money
  12. hand — help
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. suit — to fit
  17. net — for catching
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. suit — clothes
  20. net — in sport
  21. kid — to tease
  22. club — for golf
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bat — in an idiom

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