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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. staff — employees
  4. deal — to handle
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. kid — child
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. wind — moving air
  10. capital — a city
  11. staff — a stick
  12. spring — the season
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — money
  15. kid — to tease
  16. staff — employees
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. spring — of water
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. spring — a coil
  24. hide — to keep secret

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