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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: capital · ground · march · wake · calf · straw · bank · dip

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. march — the month
  3. capital — money
  4. march — music
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bank — for money
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — a position
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — of a river
  14. dip — to sink
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. ground — crushed
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. wake — a trail
  19. march — the month
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. capital — a city

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