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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bank — of a river
  5. kid — child
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. spring — of water
  10. capital — money
  11. bank — for money
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bank — for money
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. spring — the season
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. field — farmland
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. capital — a city
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. kid — to tease

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