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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: season · roll · capital · calf · track · wind · hand · row

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. wind — moving air
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. capital — a city
  5. track — a song
  6. capital — money
  7. hand — in cards
  8. roll — a list
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. row — to paddle
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a cake
  14. hand — help
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — a line
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. track — a path
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. season — in sport
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. season — of the year
  23. wind — moving air
  24. track — to keep track

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