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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: cell · wake · race · spell · field · leaves · staff · capital

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. race — humankind
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. staff — employees
  6. field — a subject
  7. spell — magic
  8. field — for sport
  9. wake — a trail
  10. race — the arms race
  11. staff — employees
  12. field — farmland
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. capital — money
  15. race — a contest
  16. spell — a short time
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — in biology
  20. capital — a city
  21. cell — a phone
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. staff — a stick
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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