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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: key · bark · hand · object · calf · capital · sharp · perch

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. key — for a lock
  3. capital — a city
  4. object — an aim
  5. object — to protest
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. capital — money
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. key — in music
  12. sharp — clever
  13. perch — the fish
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. object — a thing
  19. key — the most important part
  20. hand — help
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — of a tree

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