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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. drill — the tool
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. game — a match
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. game — wild animals
  9. capital — a city
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rule — government
  12. mark — a grade
  13. rule — a law
  14. drill — army training
  15. capital — money
  16. chest — of your body
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. drill — a practice
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. mark — a trace
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. chest — a box

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