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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. land — ground
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. swing — music
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. swing — to play on
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. kick — in football
  11. shower — to wash
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. swing — in golf
  14. chair — a leader
  15. land — a country
  16. land — to come down
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. chair — to sit on

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