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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 120 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 · wave · key · cold · calf · kick · drill · last

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. key — in music
  3. last — final
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cold — an illness
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. drill — the tool
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. drill — army training
  12. key — for a lock
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. drill — a practice
  16. last — to go on
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. capital — money
  19. cold — not warm
  20. capital — a city
  21. key — the most important part
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. kick — in football
  24. last — finally

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