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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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. net — in sport
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. ground — crushed
  5. dip — to sink
  6. present — there
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. capital — a city
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. present — the time now
  14. net — for catching
  15. capital — money
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. ground — the earth
  18. net — after costs
  19. fork — in a road
  20. present — a gift
  21. mine — for digging
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. ground — a position
  24. fork — a garden tool

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