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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. capital — money
  5. rest — what's left
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. ground — a position
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. ground — the earth
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. degree — temperature
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. plane — a tool
  14. ground — crushed
  15. chair — a leader
  16. degree — an amount
  17. capital — a city
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. rest — a break
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. rest — what's left
  23. degree — from a university
  24. plane — in geometry

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