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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bulb — for light
  3. kid — child
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. scale — in music
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. capital — money
  9. bulb — for light
  10. craft — boats
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. craft — a skill
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. capital — a city
  19. deal — to handle
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. scale — size or range
  24. chair — a leader

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