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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. 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. rash — on the skin
  2. capital — a city
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bass — low music
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. season — in sport
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. mine — for digging
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. toast — bread
  15. rash — hasty
  16. season — of the year
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — happy
  20. bass — the fish
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. rash — a series
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. capital — money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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