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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. degree — from a university
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. clip — to cut
  6. capital — money
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. degree — temperature
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. board — a committee
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. capital — a city
  16. clip — for paper
  17. degree — an amount
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. board — to get on
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. kick — in football
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. clip — a video
  24. calf — of the leg

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