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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: spell · kid · file · nail · face · board · capital · straw

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. board — to get on
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. face — part of the head
  5. spell — magic
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. capital — a city
  10. spell — letters
  11. spell — a short time
  12. kid — child
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. kid — to tease
  16. file — a document
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. board — a committee
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — to point toward
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — on a finger

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