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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 120 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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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: lean · capital · kid · can · deal · pop · land · march

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. capital — money
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. kid — child
  5. can — to be able to
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. capital — a city
  9. deal — to handle
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. can — a tin
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — soda
  14. march — music
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — a country
  18. lean — to bend
  19. land — ground
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. kid — to tease
  23. pop — music
  24. can — a tin

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