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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. hand — help
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. degree — an amount
  5. capital — money
  6. ball — a dance
  7. capital — a city
  8. degree — temperature
  9. pop — to visit
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. cue — for pool
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. degree — from a university
  16. stand — to bear
  17. pop — music
  18. hand — in cards
  19. cue — a signal
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. ball — a great time
  22. cue — a hint
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. calf — a young animal

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