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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 116 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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. present — the time now
  8. race — a contest
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bass — low music
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. present — there
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. present — a gift
  16. wound — an injury
  17. race — the arms race
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — money
  20. race — humankind
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. mine — for digging
  24. capital — a big letter

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