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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: bulb · ball · squash · chest · calf · capital · clip · kick

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. capital — a city
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. clip — for paper
  8. capital — money
  9. squash — to crush
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. kick — in football
  12. clip — to cut
  13. chest — a box
  14. squash — the sport
  15. bulb — for light
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. ball — a dance
  18. chest — of your body
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. clip — a video
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bulb — for light
  23. ball — a great time
  24. chest — of your body

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