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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: fork · calf · pop · capital · cell · march

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. cell — a phone
  3. march — music
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. march — the month
  7. fork — in a road
  8. pop — to visit
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. capital — money
  11. cell — in biology
  12. pop — soda
  13. capital — a city
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. pop — music
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. march — the month

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