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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 116 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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. file — a line of people
  4. net — in sport
  5. file — a document
  6. wound — an injury
  7. file — a tool
  8. bear — the animal
  9. last — final
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — after costs
  15. capital — a city
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wound — an injury
  24. calf — a young animal

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