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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 120 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. capital — a city
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wake — a trail
  8. mug — a cup
  9. chip — for betting
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. capital — money
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wound — an injury
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. mug — to rob
  19. mug — a face
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. chip — to eat
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bark — to shout

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