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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: bay · capital · straw · last · snap · prune · calf · cap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. capital — money
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. last — finally
  5. prune — to trim
  6. last — to go on
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cap — a lid
  9. prune — to trim
  10. last — final
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. cap — a hat
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. cap — of ice
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. capital — a city
  24. 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