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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: game · last · capital · calf · press · bulb · stem · bat

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. last — final
  3. capital — a city
  4. stem — to come from
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. press — a publisher
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. bulb — for light
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. last — finally
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. press — newspapers
  14. game — a match
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. last — to go on
  17. capital — money
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — the animal
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. press — to push
  23. bulb — for light
  24. game — wild animals

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