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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 116 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: cell · capital · calf · kick · rock · spring

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. capital — a city
  3. rock — music
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — money
  6. rock — a stone
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. spring — a coil
  11. cell — in biology
  12. kick — in football
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — the season
  18. kick — with a 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