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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. squash — to crush
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mug — to rob
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. capital — money
  15. board — a committee
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. mug — a cup
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. cold — an illness
  22. perch — the fish
  23. board — to get on
  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