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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: capital · cell · calf · file · wind · kick

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. file — a line of people
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. wind — moving air
  8. kick — in football
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — a city
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. cell — a phone
  15. file — a tool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cell — in biology
  18. file — a document

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