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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bass — low music
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. rash — a series
  5. present — the time now
  6. stock — goods
  7. bass — the fish
  8. present — a gift
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. stock — shares
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. capital — a city
  16. pit — in a race
  17. present — there
  18. rash — hasty
  19. capital — money
  20. pit — a hole
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. calf — a young animal

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