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

Word bank: roll · object · capital · shower · deal · snap · rock · kid

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. rock — music
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. object — an aim
  5. kid — to tease
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. object — a thing
  10. shower — to wash
  11. rock — a stone
  12. capital — a city
  13. roll — a list
  14. shower — rain
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. roll — a cake
  17. deal — to handle
  18. capital — money
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. kid — child
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. object — to protest
  23. snap — to click
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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