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

Word bank: wind · capital · bay · calf · present · branch

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. present — a gift
  5. wind — moving air
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. present — the time now
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. present — there
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. branch — a division
  18. calf — of the leg

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