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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: capital · kick · spell · clip · court · pit · mate · face

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. spell — magic
  3. pit — a hole
  4. spell — a short time
  5. face — to point toward
  6. face — to confront
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. face — part of the head
  9. pit — in a race
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — for paper
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of law
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. mate — to breed
  16. clip — a video
  17. mate — a partner
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. kick — in football
  20. capital — a city
  21. mate — a friend
  22. spell — letters
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. court — of a king

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