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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. fork — in a road
  3. cap — a lid
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. court — of law
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. cap — a hat
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. rock — music
  15. capital — money
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. court — for sport
  18. fall — the season
  19. rock — a stone
  20. capital — a city
  21. court — of a king
  22. fall — to drop
  23. capital — a big letter
  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