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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. club — for golf
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fork — in a road
  9. club — for dancing
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. ball — a dance
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. vault — a safe
  14. ball — a great time
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. capital — money
  21. club — a group
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. cold — not warm
  24. calf — a young animal

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