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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  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. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. drill — army training
  4. net — in sport
  5. object — a thing
  6. cold — not warm
  7. kid — to tease
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. plane — a tool
  10. net — for catching
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. drill — the tool
  13. craft — a skill
  14. kid — child
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. net — after costs
  18. craft — boats
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. object — to protest
  21. object — an aim
  22. cold — an illness
  23. craft — a handicraft
  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