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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. tube — a container
  4. dip — to sink
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. kid — child
  10. chip — for betting
  11. capital — a city
  12. tube — the underground
  13. capital — money
  14. kid — to tease
  15. row — to paddle
  16. branch — a division
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. chip — to eat
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — a line
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. racket — a loud noise

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