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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. mate — to breed
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. clip — to cut
  9. content — the amount
  10. clip — a video
  11. content — happy
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. mate — a partner
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. clip — for paper
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. capital — a city
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. wake — a trail
  22. mate — a friend
  23. kid — to tease
  24. plane — a tool

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