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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. spring — of water
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. capital — a city
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. capital — money
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. plane — a tool
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. kick — in football
  19. spring — the season
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — hasty
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. racket — for tennis

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