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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. root — of a word
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. fork — in a road
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. root — of a plant
  11. degree — an amount
  12. lean — to bend
  13. root — the cause
  14. lean — thin
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — to play on
  17. capital — a city
  18. degree — temperature
  19. ball — a dance
  20. capital — money
  21. ball — a great time
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. swing — in golf
  24. degree — from a university

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