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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 120 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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. mine — for digging
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. bat — the animal
  5. spell — letters
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. march — the month
  8. capital — money
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. deal — to handle
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. capital — a city
  16. march — the month
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — a short time
  20. board — a committee
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. board — to get on
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. march — music

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