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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. capital — a city
  3. wake — a trail
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. march — the month
  6. clip — to cut
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. capital — money
  16. last — final
  17. last — to go on
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — a video
  20. march — the month
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. march — music
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. last — finally

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