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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: bat · spell · race · saw · snap · bowl · march · capital

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — a short time
  5. capital — money
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. race — a contest
  8. capital — a city
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. race — the arms race
  12. snap — to click
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. march — the month
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. march — music
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. march — the month
  24. race — humankind

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