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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: kid · shower · capital · bay · net · cabinet · bore · swing

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. shower — to wash
  3. net — for catching
  4. kid — to tease
  5. swing — to play on
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. kid — child
  8. swing — music
  9. net — after costs
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. net — in sport
  12. bore — to tire
  13. capital — money
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. capital — a city
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bore — to drill

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