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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 120 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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. mug — a face
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. saw — the tool
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. capital — a city
  12. mug — to rob
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. saw — the tool
  16. capital — money
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — shares
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. chair — a leader
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. temple — a place of worship
  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