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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. last — to go on
  3. march — the month
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. shower — rain
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. march — music
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. last — final
  11. capital — money
  12. game — a match
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pound — a weight
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. last — finally
  18. game — wild animals
  19. capital — a city
  20. shower — to wash
  21. mine — for digging
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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