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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. fine — all right
  3. scale — in music
  4. shower — to wash
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. capital — a city
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. shower — rain
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — for golf
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — child
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. fine — high quality
  20. club — a group
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. prune — to trim
  23. scale — size or range
  24. prune — to trim

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