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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of law
  5. capital — a city
  6. spring — the season
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. spring — a coil
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. snap — to click
  14. court — of a king
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. pass — a permit
  21. capital — money
  22. spring — of water
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. calf — a young animal

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