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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. file — a line of people
  3. kid — to tease
  4. capital — a city
  5. last — to go on
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. file — a document
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. lean — to bend
  10. file — a tool
  11. stock — goods
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. last — finally
  14. capital — money
  15. stock — shares
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. vault — a safe
  18. last — final
  19. kid — child
  20. fork — in a road
  21. lean — thin
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. stock — a soup base

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