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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. rash — hasty
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. file — a line of people
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. rock — a stone
  11. file — a tool
  12. capital — a city
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. capital — money
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. spring — the season
  19. file — a document
  20. rock — music
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rash — a series
  23. spring — of water
  24. capital — a big letter

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