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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: cell · fine · cue · calf · mine · capital · kid · bat

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. capital — money
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cue — a signal
  14. mine — for digging
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — child
  17. capital — a city
  18. fine — high quality
  19. kid — to tease
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. cue — for pool
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. fine — all right

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