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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. perch — the fish
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. kid — to tease
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. game — wild animals
  12. capital — money
  13. bass — low music
  14. kid — child
  15. game — a match
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bass — the fish
  24. calf — of the leg

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