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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. mine — for digging
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wake — a trail
  5. net — after costs
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. firm — steady
  9. date — the fruit
  10. rest — a break
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. rest — what's left
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. net — in sport
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. firm — decided
  20. capital — money
  21. rest — what's left
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. net — for catching

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