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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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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: mate · fine · pitcher · game · branch · kick · calf · capital

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. fine — all right
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. fine — high quality
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. mate — a friend
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. capital — a city
  10. branch — a division
  11. kick — in football
  12. mate — a partner
  13. game — a match
  14. capital — money
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. mate — to breed
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. game — wild animals
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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