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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: ground · tear · clip · key · mug · capital · coach · calf

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. capital — money
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. ground — a position
  7. mug — to rob
  8. clip — a video
  9. tear — to rip
  10. ground — crushed
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. tear — from crying
  13. ground — the earth
  14. key — for a lock
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. mug — a face
  17. key — in music
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. capital — a city
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mug — a cup
  22. key — the most important part
  23. clip — to cut
  24. tear — from crying

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