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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · chair · calf · press · temple · game · capital · snap

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. march — the month
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. capital — a city
  7. press — to push
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. press — a publisher
  11. march — music
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. game — wild animals
  16. capital — money
  17. chair — a leader
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. march — the month
  20. snap — to click
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. press — newspapers
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. game — a match

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