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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. perch — the fish
  3. capital — a city
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. net — after costs
  6. drill — the tool
  7. capital — money
  8. drill — a practice
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. craft — boats
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. net — for catching
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. craft — a skill
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. foot — a measure
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — rain
  24. net — in sport

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