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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 120 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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. capital — a city
  3. kid — to tease
  4. ground — the earth
  5. fine — high quality
  6. ground — a position
  7. row — to paddle
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. row — a line
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. suit — to fit
  16. kid — child
  17. capital — money
  18. suit — clothes
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. fine — all right
  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