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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. charge — in control
  3. ground — the earth
  4. charge — electricity
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. charge — a price
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fine — all right
  9. capital — money
  10. fine — high quality
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. capital — a city
  16. wind — moving air
  17. file — a tool
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — a position
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. leaves — of a tree

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