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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. net — after costs
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bass — low music
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. net — for catching
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. capital — a city
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. net — in sport
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. capital — money
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of an elephant

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