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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. press — to push
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. firm — decided
  9. tear — to rip
  10. press — a publisher
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bat — the animal
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mine — for digging
  15. capital — a city
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. tear — from crying
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. press — newspapers
  21. firm — a company
  22. capital — money
  23. firm — steady
  24. mine — belonging to me

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