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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: pitch · cap · pop · calf · bound · land · clip · fall

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. land — a country
  3. pop — soda
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. bound — tied together
  6. clip — a video
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — completely
  10. cap — a lid
  11. land — to come down
  12. pop — music
  13. land — ground
  14. pop — to visit
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bound — obliged
  18. clip — to cut
  19. fall — the season
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. bound — certain
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — of ice
  24. clip — for paper

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