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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  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. ground — the earth
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. kid — to tease
  4. band — a music group
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. bound — certain
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bound — obliged
  11. press — to push
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. ground — crushed
  14. kid — child
  15. band — a ring
  16. craft — a skill
  17. bound — tied together
  18. press — newspapers
  19. capital — money
  20. ground — a position
  21. snap — to click
  22. press — a publisher
  23. craft — boats
  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