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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: capital · cell · cold · prune · lie · band · key · calf

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. prune — to trim
  4. key — for a lock
  5. prune — to trim
  6. key — in music
  7. cold — not warm
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. capital — money
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. capital — a city
  12. band — a music group
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. key — the most important part
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. lie — to recline
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. band — a ring

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