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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. rule — a law
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. key — for a lock
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. bat — the animal
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. key — the most important part
  11. capital — money
  12. rule — government
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. perch — the fish
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. capital — a city
  24. perch — for a bird

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