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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 116 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: lean · spring · capital · bat · pitcher · clip · leaves · calf

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — of water
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lean — to bend
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. capital — a city
  10. spring — the season
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. capital — money
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. clip — a video
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. lean — thin

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