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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. key — in music
  3. capital — money
  4. mine — for digging
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. key — the most important part
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. key — for a lock
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. capital — a city
  23. cell — in biology
  24. snap — to click

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