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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. capital — a city
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. ball — a great time
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. bound — obliged
  11. row — a line
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bound — certain
  15. row — to paddle
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bound — tied together
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. capital — money

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