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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. drill — a practice
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. saw — the tool
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. drill — the tool
  10. row — to paddle
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. capital — money
  13. suit — clothes
  14. saw — the tool
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — a line
  17. suit — to fit
  18. date — the fruit
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. suit — in cards
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. fork — in a road

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