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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.

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: capital · clip · squash · bowl · board · spell · spring · pitcher

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. clip — to cut
  4. board — to get on
  5. spell — magic
  6. spring — of water
  7. board — a committee
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. spell — letters
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the sport
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. clip — a video
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a city
  20. spring — a coil
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spring — the season
  24. squash — the vegetable

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