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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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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: date · capital · fine · chest · calf · straw

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. capital — money
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fine — high quality
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. chest — a box
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. capital — a city
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. chest — of your body
  18. date — the fruit

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