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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. bulb — for light
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. net — after costs
  8. rash — a series
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. chip — to eat
  12. net — for catching
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. rash — hasty
  18. chip — for betting
  19. bulb — for light
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. capital — a city
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. capital — money

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