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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. last — final
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. swing — in golf
  6. scale — in music
  7. rash — hasty
  8. swing — music
  9. last — finally
  10. last — to go on
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. capital — a city
  15. scale — size or range
  16. rash — a series
  17. capital — money
  18. swing — to play on
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. pound — a weight
  24. scale — for weighing

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