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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. capital — money
  4. clip — to cut
  5. prune — to trim
  6. firm — decided
  7. bore — to drill
  8. clip — for paper
  9. firm — steady
  10. chest — of your body
  11. clip — a video
  12. court — of law
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. court — of a king
  15. firm — a company
  16. chest — a box
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. chest — of your body
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. bore — to tire
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. court — for sport
  24. prune — to trim

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