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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: ball · hand · deal · lean · last · spell · rest · capital

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. spell — a short time
  4. hand — in cards
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — to bend
  7. ball — a dance
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. deal — to handle
  10. last — finally
  11. rest — what's left
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. rest — a break
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. lean — thin
  17. last — final
  18. capital — a city
  19. hand — help
  20. spell — letters
  21. rest — what's left
  22. spell — magic
  23. last — to go on
  24. deal — an agreement

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