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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. stem — to come from
  6. ball — a dance
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. staff — employees
  9. ball — a great time
  10. wound — an injury
  11. staff — a stick
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. wound — an injury
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. game — a match
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. game — wild animals
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. staff — employees
  24. wake — a trail

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