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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: nail · capital · degree · spell · cell · pitch

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. spell — a short time
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. capital — money
  7. degree — an amount
  8. capital — a city
  9. cell — in biology
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. degree — temperature
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — letters
  17. degree — from a university
  18. nail — for a hammer

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