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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. swing — to play on
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. game — wild animals
  12. swing — music
  13. date — the fruit
  14. rash — hasty
  15. capital — a city
  16. swing — in golf
  17. capital — money
  18. calf — of the leg

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