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

Word bank: sharp · shower · capital · deal · kid · key · craft · cell

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. craft — boats
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. kid — child
  10. capital — money
  11. cell — in biology
  12. shower — to wash
  13. deal — to handle
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. craft — a skill
  16. key — for a lock
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. key — the most important part
  20. shower — rain
  21. kid — to tease
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. sharp — clever
  24. key — in music

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