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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 120 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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. kid — to tease
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. cold — an illness
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. can — to be able to
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. land — to come down
  10. cold — not warm
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. capital — money
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. kid — child
  15. can — a tin
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. land — a country
  18. land — ground
  19. can — a tin
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. capital — a city
  24. trunk — of a car

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