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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 will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. capital — a city
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. march — the month
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. court — of law
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. march — music
  14. scale — size or range
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. court — of a king
  18. capital — money
  19. court — for sport
  20. scale — in music
  21. toast — bread
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. trunk — of a car

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