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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 · rash · wake · saw · calf · club · face · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. capital — a city
  3. march — the month
  4. rash — a series
  5. saw — the tool
  6. face — to confront
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — a group
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. march — music
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wake — a trail
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. club — for dancing
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. rash — hasty
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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