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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pop — music
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pop — soda
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — all right
  9. cold — not warm
  10. capital — money
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. shower — rain
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. capital — a city
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — to recline
  21. pop — to visit
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. lie — an untruth

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