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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: content · capital · date · calf · lean · firm · mine · spell

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. capital — a city
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — happy
  5. date — the fruit
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. firm — a company
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. firm — steady
  11. spell — magic
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. lean — to bend
  15. capital — money
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. spell — a short time
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. firm — decided
  21. mine — for digging
  22. lean — thin
  23. content — the amount
  24. mine — belonging to me

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