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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. drill — army training
  3. staff — a stick
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. row — a line
  8. degree — from a university
  9. wake — a trail
  10. lean — to bend
  11. capital — a city
  12. lean — thin
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. staff — employees
  17. capital — money
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. row — to paddle
  20. staff — employees
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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