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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: can · pit · clip · last · capital · calf · degree · hide

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  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. last — final
  3. can — a tin
  4. last — to go on
  5. clip — a video
  6. degree — an amount
  7. last — finally
  8. clip — for paper
  9. can — a tin
  10. pit — a hole
  11. capital — money
  12. degree — from a university
  13. clip — to cut
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. pit — in a race
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. degree — temperature
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. capital — a city
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. can — to be able to
  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