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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 116 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. court — of a king
  12. capital — a city
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bat — the animal
  15. clip — to cut
  16. court — of law
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. mate — to breed
  20. court — for sport
  21. mate — a friend
  22. fork — in a road
  23. mate — a partner
  24. clip — a video

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