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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. net — after costs
  6. drill — the tool
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — a hat
  11. net — in sport
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. kid — child
  14. rock — a stone
  15. drill — army training
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. cap — of ice
  18. capital — money
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. capital — a city
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. net — for catching
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. drill — a practice

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