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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 116 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: plane · last · capital · bear · perch · fall · content · spell

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. fall — the season
  5. spell — a short time
  6. perch — the fish
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spell — letters
  11. fall — to drop
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. last — final
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. plane — a tool
  18. last — to go on
  19. capital — a city
  20. bear — the animal
  21. last — finally
  22. bear — the animal
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. spell — magic

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