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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. capital — a city
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. mine — for digging
  7. last — finally
  8. court — for sport
  9. last — final
  10. current — electric
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. last — to go on
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. current — happening now
  19. branch — a division
  20. current — of water
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. leaves — to go away

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