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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: cell · cap · pound · spell · scale · wind · land · capital

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. spell — a short time
  5. land — to come down
  6. capital — a city
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cap — a lid
  9. spell — magic
  10. cap — of ice
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. land — a country
  13. spell — letters
  14. capital — money
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. land — ground
  21. scale — in music
  22. pound — a weight
  23. cell — in biology
  24. wind — moving air

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