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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. court — of law
  3. rash — a series
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. rash — hasty
  7. row — to paddle
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. scale — size or range
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. court — for sport
  14. stem — to come from
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. row — a line
  18. scale — in music
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. capital — a city
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. court — of a king

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