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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 had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. kid — to tease
  5. drill — a practice
  6. pitch — completely
  7. fall — the season
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. capital — a city
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. fall — to drop
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. fall — to drop
  19. drill — army training
  20. capital — money
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. drill — the tool
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. kid — child

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