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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · fan · kid · spring · track · calf · court · ruler

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. spring — the season
  4. court — of a king
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. track — a path
  9. track — a song
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. kid — child
  16. court — for sport
  17. kid — to tease
  18. court — of law
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. capital — money
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. track — to keep track
  24. fan — a supporter

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