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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. staff — a stick
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. capital — a city
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. capital — money
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. cold — not warm
  10. staff — employees
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. shower — to wash
  13. staff — employees
  14. cold — an illness
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain

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