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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. court — for sport
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. wake — a trail
  6. court — of a king
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. branch — a division
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. court — of law
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. wake — to stop sleeping

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