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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: mine · nail · key · bat · bound · spell · stem · cap

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. cap — a hat
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bound — tied together
  6. spell — letters
  7. cap — a lid
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. key — for a lock
  10. cap — of ice
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. key — in music
  13. spell — magic
  14. key — the most important part
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bound — certain
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. stem — to come from
  23. bound — obliged
  24. spell — a short time

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