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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. pop — soda
  4. capital — a city
  5. kick — in football
  6. face — part of the head
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. bass — the fish
  9. pop — music
  10. face — to confront
  11. pop — to visit
  12. drill — the tool
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. bass — low music
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — a practice
  19. capital — money
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. face — to point toward
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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