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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 116 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. kid — child
  4. cold — not warm
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. march — the month
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. charge — in control
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. charge — electricity
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. march — the month
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. capital — money
  16. kick — in football
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. capital — a city
  21. cold — an illness
  22. charge — a price
  23. march — music
  24. bowl — a football final

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