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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. capital — money
  3. mark — a trace
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. court — for sport
  6. press — to push
  7. lean — to bend
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. court — of law
  11. content — the amount
  12. race — the arms race
  13. lean — thin
  14. content — happy
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. race — a contest
  17. mark — a grade
  18. press — a publisher
  19. race — humankind
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. court — of a king
  22. capital — a city
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. press — newspapers

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