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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: club · capital · wave · calf · present · pitcher · wind · branch

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. branch — a division
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. club — a group
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. present — the time now
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. present — there
  12. capital — money
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wind — moving air
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. club — for dancing
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. capital — a city
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. club — for golf

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