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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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Word bank
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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. kid — to tease
  4. file — a tool
  5. cap — a hat
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. object — a thing
  10. file — a document
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cap — of ice
  17. object — an aim
  18. object — to protest
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. cap — a lid
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. kid — child
  24. craft — boats

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