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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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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: calf · capital · band · wake · bay · mouse · snap · bat

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. band — a music group
  8. capital — a city
  9. band — a ring
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bat — the animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — a trail
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. snap — to click

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