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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. march — the month
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. rush — hurry
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a music group
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. capital — a city
  13. march — music
  14. shower — to wash
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. shower — rain
  18. capital — money
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. tear — to rip
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. tear — from crying
  24. march — the month

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