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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. face — to confront
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. file — a document
  7. bound — tied together
  8. capital — a city
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. bound — certain
  18. shower — rain
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. face — part of the head
  23. bound — obliged
  24. face — to point toward

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