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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · straw · pop · mouse · mine · capital · cap · degree

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. capital — money
  3. cap — a hat
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pop — music
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. cap — of ice
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. cap — a lid
  11. pop — to visit
  12. spell — magic
  13. pop — soda
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. spell — letters
  21. mine — for digging
  22. degree — temperature
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. mouse — the animal

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