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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. mark — a trace
  4. ground — the earth
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. cold — not warm
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. ground — a position
  10. scale — in music
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. ground — crushed
  15. scale — size or range
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. capital — a city
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. cold — an illness
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. mark — a grade

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