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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: spell · kid · capital · cell · suit · straw

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. capital — a city
  7. kid — child
  8. cell — a phone
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. suit — to fit
  11. suit — clothes
  12. cell — in biology
  13. capital — money
  14. kid — to tease
  15. suit — in cards
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. spell — magic
  18. capital — a big letter

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