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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. spring — a coil
  3. track — a song
  4. track — a path
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. drill — a practice
  8. spring — the season
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. chair — a leader
  11. drill — army training
  12. spring — of water
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fine — all right
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. track — to keep track
  20. plane — a tool
  21. drill — the tool
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. chair — to sit on

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