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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: spell · club · bass · capital · drill · straw · court · cell

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — a practice
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. capital — money
  6. court — for sport
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. club — a group
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bass — the fish
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bass — low music
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. club — for dancing
  15. capital — a city
  16. court — of law
  17. club — for golf
  18. court — of a king
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — letters
  22. drill — the tool
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. cell — in biology

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