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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cell — a phone
  5. last — to go on
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cell — in biology
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. capital — a city
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. perch — the fish
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. last — finally
  24. calf — of the leg

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