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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. capital — money
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — music
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. last — finally
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. last — final
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. last — to go on
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. snap — to click
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pop — soda
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. capital — a city
  24. fan — a supporter

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