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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: kid · capital · wave · game · sharp · kick · root · deal

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. kick — in football
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. deal — to handle
  9. root — of a word
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. capital — a city
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. sharp — clever
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — the cause
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kid — child
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. game — a match
  24. capital — money

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