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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wave · march · mouse · capital · land · stem · fall · calf

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. land — to come down
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. stem — to come from
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. march — the month
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. land — a country
  16. march — the month
  17. fall — the season
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. capital — a city
  21. march — music
  22. capital — money
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. calf — a young animal

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