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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: rock · spell · spring · land · wave · deal · capital · lie

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. spell — a short time
  5. lie — to recline
  6. capital — a city
  7. spring — the season
  8. rock — a stone
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. spell — magic
  14. land — to come down
  15. deal — to handle
  16. spell — letters
  17. spring — a coil
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. land — ground
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. land — a country
  23. spring — of water
  24. wave — with your hand

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