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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. prune — to trim
  3. club — for golf
  4. bore — to tire
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. march — the month
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. club — a group
  11. march — music
  12. root — of a word
  13. fall — to drop
  14. march — the month
  15. club — for dancing
  16. bore — to drill
  17. prune — to trim
  18. fall — to drop
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — the cause
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. fall — the season
  24. capital — a city

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