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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. mate — to breed
  4. content — happy
  5. capital — money
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. vault — a safe
  8. capital — a city
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. mate — a partner
  13. tear — from crying
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. tear — from crying
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a leader
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. tear — to rip
  22. content — the amount
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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