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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
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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: land · capital · march · last · calf · cell · wax · kick

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. capital — a city
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. march — the month
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. cell — a phone
  11. last — final
  12. kick — in football
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. wax — to grow
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. march — music
  17. land — a country
  18. capital — money
  19. land — ground
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. land — to come down
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. march — the month

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