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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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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: calf · capital · last · hand · wound · saw · wake · bear

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. saw — the tool
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. bear — the animal
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. last — final
  10. last — finally
  11. last — to go on
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wound — an injury
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. wound — an injury
  20. hand — help
  21. capital — money
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. capital — a city
  24. bear — the animal

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