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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. mug — a face
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. swing — to play on
  5. staff — a stick
  6. capital — a city
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. present — a gift
  10. chest — of your body
  11. land — to come down
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. present — the time now
  14. staff — employees
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — music
  19. mug — to rob
  20. chest — a box
  21. staff — employees
  22. capital — money
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mug — a cup

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