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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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. file — a document
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — clever
  8. court — of law
  9. game — a match
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. court — of a king
  12. capital — money
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. capital — a city
  16. file — a tool
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. bat — the animal
  20. file — a line of people
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. court — for sport
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. game — wild animals

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