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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  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. root — of a word
  2. last — finally
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. deal — to handle
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — final
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pass — a permit
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a city
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. root — the cause
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. tear — from crying
  19. root — of a plant
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. tear — to rip
  23. deal — a big deal
  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