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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 120 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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. capital — a city
  4. ground — a position
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bass — the fish
  7. spell — a short time
  8. ground — the earth
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. object — to protest
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. capital — money
  15. object — an aim
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. object — a thing
  18. wake — a trail
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. ground — crushed
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. spell — letters

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