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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — in football
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bat — the animal
  7. root — of a plant
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. wound — an injury
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. capital — money
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. root — the cause
  17. fine — all right
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. fine — high quality
  22. root — of a word
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. fork — in a road

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