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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  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. press — a publisher
  3. capital — money
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. press — newspapers
  10. cell — a phone
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mate — a partner
  13. press — to push
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. mate — a friend
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. mate — to breed
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bark — to shout
  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