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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. saw — the tool
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. pass — a permit
  9. capital — a city
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. row — to paddle
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. row — a line
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cell — in biology
  18. capital — money

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