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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. chest — a box
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. chest — of your body
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. ball — a great time
  15. perch — the fish
  16. wound — an injury
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. capital — money
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. capital — a city
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. chest — of your body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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