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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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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: squash · calf · pitcher · track · capital · fall · staff · clip

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. staff — employees
  3. clip — for paper
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. fall — to drop
  6. track — a song
  7. fall — to drop
  8. track — to keep track
  9. clip — to cut
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. track — a path
  12. clip — a video
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. fall — the season
  15. staff — employees
  16. capital — a city
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. staff — a stick
  19. squash — to crush
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. capital — money

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