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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. shower — to wash
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. capital — money
  6. march — the month
  7. saw — the tool
  8. wound — an injury
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. craft — boats
  16. capital — a city
  17. shower — rain
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. wound — an injury
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. pit — in a race

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