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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: chair · mine · present · capital · kid · perch · key · deal

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. kid — to tease
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. present — there
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. present — a gift
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. kid — child
  16. key — the most important part
  17. present — the time now
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. mine — for digging
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — in music
  23. chair — a leader
  24. perch — the fish

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