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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bore — to drill
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. drill — army training
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. spring — of water
  8. shower — rain
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. capital — money
  11. drill — the tool
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. bore — to tire
  15. wax — to grow
  16. capital — a city
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. spring — the season
  21. drill — a practice
  22. spring — a coil
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — a place of worship

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