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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. spell — magic
  4. rest — a break
  5. row — a line
  6. capital — money
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. rest — what's left
  9. foot — a measure
  10. capital — a city
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. face — to confront
  13. row — to paddle
  14. spell — letters
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. tube — the underground
  19. face — to point toward
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. spell — a short time
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. rest — what's left
  24. face — part of the head

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