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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: land · bark · calf · capital · content · fan

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. content — happy
  8. capital — money
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. land — ground
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. content — the amount
  14. capital — a city
  15. land — a country
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. bark — of a tree

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