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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: roll · cap · racket · spring · capital · mark · spell · straw

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. spring — the season
  3. roll — a list
  4. mark — a grade
  5. spell — magic
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. roll — a cake
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. spring — of water
  11. mark — a trace
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. cap — of ice
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — letters
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cap — a lid
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. racket — for tennis

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