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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. kid — to tease
  3. club — for dancing
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. kid — child
  6. ground — crushed
  7. capital — a city
  8. shower — rain
  9. club — for golf
  10. dip — to sink
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. craft — a skill
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. shower — to wash
  15. ground — a position
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. club — a group
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. craft — boats
  24. capital — money

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