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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. capital — money
  4. march — the month
  5. season — in sport
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. kick — in football
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. march — the month
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. season — of the year
  19. capital — a city
  20. mark — a grade
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. mark — a trace
  24. march — music

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