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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: capital · last · sharp · calf · cell · race · stock · spring

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. stock — goods
  5. spring — of water
  6. race — a contest
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. stock — shares
  9. capital — a city
  10. cell — a phone
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. capital — money
  13. spring — a coil
  14. last — final
  15. last — finally
  16. race — humankind
  17. cell — in biology
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. last — to go on
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. race — the arms race

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