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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 120 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 had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. club — a group
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. staff — a stick
  8. branch — a division
  9. capital — a city
  10. cold — an illness
  11. club — for dancing
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. cold — not warm
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. capital — money
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. shower — to wash
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. staff — employees
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. club — for golf
  24. staff — employees

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