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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 116 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. degree — from a university
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. capital — a city
  5. ball — a dance
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. club — for golf
  8. ball — a great time
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. spell — magic
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. club — a group
  14. capital — money
  15. spell — a short time
  16. degree — an amount
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. degree — temperature
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. club — for dancing
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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