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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. rule — a law
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. degree — from a university
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. capital — money
  9. fall — to drop
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bore — to drill
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — to tease
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bear — the animal
  19. capital — a city
  20. fall — the season
  21. rule — government
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. degree — an amount
  24. toast — bread

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