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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 120 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: board · last · lie · capital · spring · wax · calf · pitcher

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. capital — a city
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. board — to get on
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. spring — a coil
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. lie — to recline
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spring — the season
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. last — final
  19. capital — money
  20. spring — of water
  21. last — finally
  22. last — to go on
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. wax — to grow

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