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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bark — to shout
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. ground — the earth
  7. wound — an injury
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. march — the month
  10. cap — of ice
  11. march — music
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bear — the animal
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — a position
  20. capital — a city
  21. bear — the animal
  22. capital — money
  23. march — the month
  24. cap — a lid

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