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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: cap · leaves · straw · calf · file · capital · staff · cell

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. staff — a stick
  4. capital — money
  5. cap — a lid
  6. file — a document
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. staff — employees
  11. file — a tool
  12. cell — in biology
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cap — of ice
  16. file — a line of people
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. staff — employees

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