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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. row — a line
  3. capital — money
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. present — there
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bound — certain
  8. present — a gift
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. dip — to sink
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bound — tied together
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. present — the time now
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bound — obliged
  24. row — to paddle

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