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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bulb — for light
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. foot — a measure
  11. row — a line
  12. cap — a hat
  13. swing — music
  14. row — to paddle
  15. swing — to play on
  16. capital — a city
  17. swing — in golf
  18. kid — to tease
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. bear — the animal
  21. capital — money
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. cap — a lid
  24. foot — the bottom

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