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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. mug — a face
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. land — a country
  6. chest — of your body
  7. capital — a city
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. chest — of your body
  10. band — a music group
  11. capital — money
  12. land — to come down
  13. mug — to rob
  14. band — a ring
  15. ball — a dance
  16. chest — a box
  17. mug — a cup
  18. kid — to tease
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. ball — a great time
  22. kid — child
  23. land — ground
  24. capital — a big letter

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