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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: file · game · cap · perch · calf · capital · land · root

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cap — of ice
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a document
  7. game — a match
  8. cap — a lid
  9. capital — a city
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. land — ground
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. land — a country
  15. land — to come down
  16. file — a tool
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. cap — a hat
  19. root — the cause
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. root — of a plant
  22. capital — money
  23. root — of a word
  24. perch — the fish

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