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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: land · track · tear · leaves · capital · calf · spring · net

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. land — ground
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. spring — a coil
  5. capital — a city
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. net — in sport
  8. tear — from crying
  9. capital — money
  10. land — a country
  11. track — a path
  12. land — to come down
  13. spring — the season
  14. track — to keep track
  15. net — for catching
  16. spring — of water
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. tear — from crying
  19. track — a song
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. tear — to rip
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. net — after costs

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