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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. tear — from crying
  8. kid — child
  9. race — a contest
  10. object — to protest
  11. object — a thing
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. capital — money
  14. race — humankind
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. race — the arms race
  19. tear — to rip
  20. lean — to bend
  21. object — an aim
  22. lean — thin
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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