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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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468
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: calf · field · tube · capital · kick · spring · fan · hand

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. field — for sport
  3. hand — help
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. spring — the season
  6. hand — in cards
  7. capital — a city
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — the underground
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — of water
  12. capital — money
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. tube — a container
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. kick — in football
  24. fan — a supporter

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