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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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468
Word bank
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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. file — a tool
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. file — a document
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. hand — in cards
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. fork — in a road
  14. wind — moving air
  15. file — a line of people
  16. club — a group
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. club — for golf
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. club — for dancing
  21. hand — help
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a city
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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