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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: stand · kid · racket · capital · drill · pop · craft · kick

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. capital — money
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. pop — music
  6. stand — to bear
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. craft — a skill
  9. pop — soda
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. craft — boats
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — a practice
  19. capital — a city
  20. pop — to visit
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. drill — the tool

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