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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: capital · last · calf · mine · band · cap · mark · fall

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. capital — money
  5. band — a music group
  6. cap — of ice
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. band — a ring
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. fall — to drop
  11. last — to go on
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. cap — a hat
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mark — a trace
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. last — finally
  19. capital — a city
  20. cap — a lid
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. fall — the season
  23. last — final
  24. mark — a grade

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