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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. cap — of ice
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — hasty
  6. track — a song
  7. bat — the animal
  8. game — a match
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. capital — a city
  11. rash — a series
  12. cap — a hat
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. track — to keep track
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. game — wild animals
  18. track — a path
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. cap — a lid

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