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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: ball · bear · capital · lash · wind · content · calf · prune

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. ball — a dance
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. content — happy
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. prune — to trim
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. bear — the animal
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — money
  23. content — the amount
  24. prune — the fruit

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