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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: drill · calf · hand · cap · leaves · pass · fall · clip

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. drill — army training
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. clip — for paper
  7. hand — help
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. clip — to cut
  11. fall — to drop
  12. drill — a practice
  13. cap — a lid
  14. fall — the season
  15. cap — a hat
  16. drill — the tool
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. pass — a permit
  20. clip — a video
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cap — of ice
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. calf — of the leg

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