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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 giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  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. calf — a young animal
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. sharp — clever
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. capital — a city
  10. scale — size or range
  11. capital — money
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. chair — a leader
  16. row — a line
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. row — to paddle
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. scale — in music
  23. lie — to recline
  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