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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
468
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 · cap · bowl · bark · patient · mine · bat · capital

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. spell — a short time
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. cap — a hat
  11. capital — money
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. cap — a lid
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. capital — a city
  19. spell — magic
  20. bark — to shout
  21. cap — of ice
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. spell — letters

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