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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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. rest — a break
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. spell — magic
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. capital — money
  9. bat — the animal
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. current — of water
  13. current — electric
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. spell — a short time
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. current — happening now
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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