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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 120 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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. pass — a permit
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. face — to confront
  7. last — final
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. last — to go on
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. capital — a city
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. saw — the tool
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. face — to point toward
  19. saw — the tool
  20. last — finally
  21. pound — a weight
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. face — part of the head
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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