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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 120 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: capital · field · drill · nail · hide · calf · clip · rash

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — for paper
  5. capital — a city
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. clip — a video
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. drill — a practice
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. drill — army training
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. field — farmland
  17. drill — the tool
  18. capital — money
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. rash — hasty
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. hide — to keep secret

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