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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. spell — magic
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. present — a gift
  9. present — there
  10. spell — letters
  11. present — the time now
  12. spell — a short time
  13. drill — army training
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. drill — a practice
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — money
  24. straw — a straw man

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