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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. capital — a city
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. net — after costs
  6. firm — steady
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. race — humankind
  9. drill — the tool
  10. sharp — clever
  11. date — the fruit
  12. net — in sport
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. capital — money
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. firm — decided
  17. drill — a practice
  18. race — the arms race
  19. net — for catching
  20. race — a contest
  21. drill — army training
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. firm — a company
  24. capital — a big letter

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