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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 like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. track — a song
  3. track — a path
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — in sport
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. net — for catching
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. capital — money
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. capital — a city
  12. cell — a phone
  13. charge — in control
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. track — to keep track
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. charge — electricity
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. charge — a price
  23. cell — in biology
  24. nail — for a hammer

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