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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. game — wild animals
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. ball — a great time
  6. game — a match
  7. ball — a dance
  8. capital — money
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. scale — size or range
  16. charge — a price
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. hand — help
  20. scale — in music
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — electricity
  23. capital — a city
  24. wound — an injury

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