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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 116 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: nail · land · dip · capital · calf · spring · lie · rock

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  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. nail — for a hammer
  2. land — ground
  3. capital — money
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. rock — music
  6. land — to come down
  7. dip — to sink
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. rock — a stone
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. spring — a coil
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. lie — to recline
  23. land — a country
  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