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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: bat · leaves · pitcher · rule · calf · capital · stock · staff

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. rule — a law
  6. staff — a stick
  7. stock — goods
  8. staff — employees
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bat — the animal
  12. capital — a city
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. stock — shares
  20. rule — government
  21. staff — employees
  22. capital — money
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. capital — a big letter

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