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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: bay · pop · calf · capital · rock · drill · cue · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. drill — the tool
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. clip — to cut
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. cue — for pool
  7. drill — a practice
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. pop — soda
  11. drill — army training
  12. pop — to visit
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. cue — a hint
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. rock — a stone
  17. cue — a signal
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. pop — music
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. clip — a video
  24. rock — music

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