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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: bat · mark · calf · key · capital · roll · bass · tear

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. capital — money
  3. bass — the fish
  4. tear — from crying
  5. key — in music
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bass — low music
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. key — the most important part
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bat — the animal
  12. capital — a city
  13. key — for a lock
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mark — a trace
  16. roll — a list
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. roll — a cake
  20. tear — to rip
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. calf — a young animal

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