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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. clip — to cut
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. clip — for paper
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. capital — a city
  7. cap — a hat
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. rush — hurry
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bulb — for light
  16. cap — of ice
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. cap — a lid
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. clip — a video
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. bulb — for light

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