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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. capital — money
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. capital — a city
  5. chair — a leader
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. foot — a measure
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. spell — a short time
  12. clip — for paper
  13. spell — letters
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. spell — magic
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. foot — part of the body

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