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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. file — a tool
  3. capital — a city
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a friend
  6. spell — letters
  7. stock — shares
  8. spell — magic
  9. file — a line of people
  10. kid — to tease
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. stock — goods
  14. spell — a short time
  15. file — a document
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. current — of water
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. mate — a partner
  20. capital — money
  21. kid — child
  22. current — happening now
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. current — electric

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