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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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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: capital · cold · rest · mug · calf · bound · fall · chair

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. rest — what's left
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. cold — an illness
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. mug — to rob
  8. mug — a cup
  9. rest — a break
  10. chair — a leader
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bound — obliged
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bound — certain
  16. capital — a city
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fall — to drop
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. mug — a face
  23. bound — tied together
  24. capital — money

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