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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 · stand · tear · row · bat · spell · plane · prune

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. spell — magic
  3. stand — to bear
  4. spell — letters
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. prune — to trim
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. tear — from crying
  11. row — to paddle
  12. capital — money
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. plane — a tool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. row — a line
  21. spell — a short time
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bat — the animal
  24. prune — to trim

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