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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rest — what's left
  4. kid — child
  5. capital — a city
  6. ground — a position
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bark — to shout
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. rest — what's left
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. capital — money
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bulb — for light
  17. kid — to tease
  18. rest — a break
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — the tool

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