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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. capital — money
  8. track — a path
  9. mine — for digging
  10. root — of a plant
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. rest — a break
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. date — the fruit
  15. rest — what's left
  16. track — a song
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. track — to keep track
  20. root — of a word
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. capital — a city
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. root — the cause

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