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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 124 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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. swing — to play on
  3. mug — to rob
  4. track — a path
  5. swing — music
  6. fine — high quality
  7. mug — a face
  8. track — to keep track
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. fine — all right
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. capital — a city
  14. saw — the tool
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. hand — in cards
  17. track — a song
  18. swing — in golf
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. mug — a cup
  22. capital — money
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. calf — a young animal

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