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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. staff — employees
  3. capital — money
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. pop — music
  7. plane — a tool
  8. kid — child
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. staff — a stick
  12. rash — hasty
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. pop — to visit
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pop — soda
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. sharp — clever
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. rash — a series
  24. staff — employees

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