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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: spell · pitcher · hide · game · capital · fall · saw · firm

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — letters
  4. fall — to drop
  5. spell — a short time
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. fall — to drop
  8. capital — a city
  9. game — wild animals
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. game — a match
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. fall — the season
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. firm — decided
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. capital — money
  19. firm — a company
  20. firm — steady
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. hide — animal skin

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