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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: craft · kick · kid · hide · fall · capital

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. fall — to drop
  3. craft — boats
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. capital — a city
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. kick — in football
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. fall — the season
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. fall — to drop
  18. craft — a skill

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