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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wound · kid · suit · bore · capital · fine · pitcher · row

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bore — to tire
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bore — to drill
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. wound — an injury
  11. suit — in cards
  12. suit — to fit
  13. fine — all right
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. row — a line
  16. suit — clothes
  17. capital — money
  18. kid — child
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. fine — high quality
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — a city
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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