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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. land — ground
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. firm — steady
  7. wind — moving air
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. toast — bread
  11. firm — a company
  12. land — to come down
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. firm — decided
  19. land — a country
  20. kid — child
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — money
  24. kid — to tease

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