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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. plane — a tool
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. club — for dancing
  6. rock — music
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. club — a group
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. capital — a city
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. kid — child
  15. root — the cause
  16. rock — a stone
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. root — of a word
  20. bat — the animal
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. capital — money
  23. root — of a plant
  24. club — for golf

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