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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. march — music
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. file — a tool
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. lean — thin
  8. chip — to eat
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. capital — a city
  12. march — the month
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. march — the month
  17. track — a path
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a line of people
  20. track — to keep track
  21. capital — money
  22. chip — for betting
  23. track — a song
  24. calf — of the leg

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