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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: row · spring · ground · bay · calf · sharp · capital · band

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. spring — the season
  3. ground — the earth
  4. row — a line
  5. sharp — clever
  6. row — to paddle
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. band — a music group
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. spring — a coil
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. ground — a position
  19. spring — of water
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. row — a quarrel
  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