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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chair · rock · capital · stem · calf · clip · season · game

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. stem — to come from
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. rock — a stone
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. clip — a video
  10. season — of the year
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. game — a match
  13. capital — a city
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. season — in sport
  16. chair — a leader
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rock — music
  19. capital — money
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — of a plant
  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