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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: snap · prune · cabinet · calf · pit · key · capital · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. snap — to click
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. key — in music
  6. pit — a hole
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. pit — in a race
  11. prune — to trim
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. key — the most important part
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. key — for a lock

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