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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. staff — a stick
  5. row — to paddle
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bat — the animal
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. row — a line
  10. bear — the animal
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. craft — boats
  13. capital — a city
  14. bear — the animal
  15. game — a match
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. rest — what's left
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. staff — employees
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. capital — money
  22. craft — a skill
  23. staff — employees
  24. rest — a break

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