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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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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: cold · vault · prune · safe · clip · capital · calf · fork

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. clip — to cut
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. prune — to trim
  8. capital — a city
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. vault — a safe
  13. clip — a video
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. cold — not warm
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. clip — for paper
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. cold — an illness
  22. prune — to trim
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. fork — in a road

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