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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 120 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. tube — a container
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. rock — a stone
  6. rock — music
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — to tease
  10. net — in sport
  11. capital — a city
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. net — for catching
  14. sharp — clever
  15. branch — a division
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. net — after costs
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. tube — the underground
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. capital — money

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