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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. kid — child
  3. capital — money
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. capital — a city
  7. cap — of ice
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. branch — a division
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. cap — a lid
  13. staff — a stick
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. staff — employees
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pound — a weight
  20. cap — a hat
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. staff — employees
  24. mine — for digging

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