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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 120 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. capital — money
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. face — to point toward
  11. mine — for digging
  12. row — to paddle
  13. capital — a city
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to confront
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. row — a quarrel

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