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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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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: swing · tear · calf · capital · present · bowl · field · fall

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. field — farmland
  7. tear — from crying
  8. swing — to play on
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. present — the time now
  11. fall — to drop
  12. field — a subject
  13. tear — from crying
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. present — there
  16. swing — music
  17. present — a gift
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. capital — money
  21. field — for sport
  22. swing — in golf
  23. fall — to drop
  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