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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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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: rash · sharp · deal · capital · kid · leaves · object · season

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. object — an aim
  6. capital — a city
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. object — a thing
  10. kid — child
  11. season — of the year
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. season — in sport
  16. capital — money
  17. object — to protest
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rash — a series
  20. deal — to handle
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. sharp — clever
  24. kid — to tease

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