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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: capital · cell · calf · file · wind · kick · trunk · mate

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. cell — in biology
  6. file — a line of people
  7. kick — in football
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mate — to breed
  14. file — a document
  15. mate — a partner
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a city
  18. mate — a friend
  19. file — a tool
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. wind — moving air
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. kick — with a leg

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