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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  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. ball — a round shape
  2. capital — money
  3. row — a line
  4. pop — to visit
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. capital — a city
  8. face — to confront
  9. ball — a great time
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to point toward
  17. wake — a trail
  18. ball — a dance
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — soda
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. wake — before a funeral
  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