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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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. key — in music
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. capital — money
  6. key — for a lock
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. capital — a city
  9. key — the most important part
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. track — to keep track
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. track — a song
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. perch — the fish
  24. track — a path

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