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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. kid — to tease
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. hand — help
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — a country
  11. capital — a city
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. stock — goods
  16. capital — money
  17. kid — child
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. hand — in cards
  21. land — ground
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. stock — shares

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