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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. net — for catching
  3. root — the cause
  4. fine — all right
  5. kid — to tease
  6. net — in sport
  7. mug — a cup
  8. cold — not warm
  9. net — after costs
  10. root — of a plant
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mug — to rob
  13. capital — a city
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. root — of a word
  17. kid — child
  18. capital — money
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. fine — high quality
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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