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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. present — a gift
  5. drill — a practice
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. drill — army training
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. drill — the tool
  13. wake — a trail
  14. capital — a city
  15. rest — a break
  16. capital — money
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. rest — what's left
  19. kid — to tease
  20. present — the time now
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. present — there
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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