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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. board — a committee
  3. pound — a weight
  4. drill — the tool
  5. net — in sport
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. capital — money
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. drill — army training
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. object — a thing
  13. capital — a city
  14. net — for catching
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. net — after costs
  18. object — to protest
  19. object — an aim
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. drill — a practice
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. board — to get on

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