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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ball · mug · capital · degree · bear · field · calf · date

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. ball — a great time
  3. mug — a cup
  4. ball — a dance
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. mug — a face
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. capital — money
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. bear — the animal
  11. capital — a city
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. date — the fruit
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mug — to rob
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. degree — an amount
  18. field — for sport
  19. degree — from a university
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. degree — temperature
  24. date — on the calendar

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