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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 120 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 · court · fall · spell · deal · bear · fork · scale

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fall — the season
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. court — for sport
  5. scale — size or range
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. bear — the animal
  9. capital — money
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. fall — to drop
  12. spell — a short time
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. fall — to drop
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. fork — in a road
  17. scale — in music
  18. court — of a king
  19. capital — a city
  20. court — of law
  21. spell — magic
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bear — the animal
  24. spell — letters

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