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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. bat — the animal
  4. root — of a plant
  5. wind — moving air
  6. drill — the tool
  7. capital — money
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. staff — employees
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. root — the cause
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. kick — in football
  18. root — of a word
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — a practice
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. capital — a city
  24. staff — a stick

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