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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. tear — from crying
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cap — a hat
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. snap — to click
  10. cap — of ice
  11. tear — to rip
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. capital — a city
  14. cap — a lid
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. capital — money
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. wound — an injury
  19. tear — from crying
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. hide — to keep secret

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