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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: saw · capital · kid · spring · ground · pit · object · racket

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. kid — child
  3. object — to protest
  4. pit — in a race
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. object — an aim
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. spring — a coil
  10. pit — a hole
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. capital — money
  13. spring — of water
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — a position
  16. capital — a city
  17. spring — the season
  18. saw — the tool
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. ground — crushed
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. kid — to tease
  24. object — a thing

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