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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. fine — all right
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. fine — high quality
  6. swing — in golf
  7. season — in sport
  8. capital — money
  9. plane — a tool
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. capital — a city
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. swing — to play on
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. season — of the year
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. swing — music
  21. wax — to grow
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. nail — for a hammer

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