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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. degree — an amount
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — hasty
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. fine — high quality
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. degree — from a university
  12. fine — all right
  13. rash — a series
  14. capital — money
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. scale — size or range
  17. can — to be able to
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. capital — a city
  20. can — a tin
  21. scale — in music
  22. degree — temperature
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. can — a tin

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