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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. saw — the tool
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. saw — the tool
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. capital — a city
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rest — a break
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — a practice
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. capital — money
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. drill — the tool
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. hide — to keep secret

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