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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: mark · bound · sharp · capital · calf · last · field · roll

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. field — a subject
  5. roll — a cake
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. last — to go on
  8. field — for sport
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. last — finally
  11. field — farmland
  12. roll — a list
  13. last — final
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — obliged
  16. mark — a trace
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. capital — money
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. bound — tied together
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. capital — a city

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