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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 120 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: bore · calf · capital · ground · spring · clip · key · board

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bore — to drill
  5. board — a committee
  6. key — the most important part
  7. spring — a coil
  8. key — in music
  9. capital — money
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — crushed
  12. key — for a lock
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. bore — to tire
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. clip — for paper
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. capital — a city
  20. spring — of water
  21. clip — a video
  22. board — to get on
  23. spring — the season
  24. ground — a position

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