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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. land — a country
  5. kid — to tease
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. prune — to trim
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. race — the arms race
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. kid — child
  13. race — a contest
  14. land — ground
  15. foot — a measure
  16. prune — to trim
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. land — to come down
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. wake — a trail
  24. race — humankind

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