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

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. fall — the season
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. capital — a city
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. capital — money
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. fall — to drop
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bat — the animal
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bark — to shout
  17. scale — in music
  18. bat — for baseball

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