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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · capital · field · rule · ground · dip · cap · fall

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rule — government
  4. ground — the earth
  5. cap — of ice
  6. fall — to drop
  7. capital — a city
  8. fall — to drop
  9. capital — money
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. cap — a lid
  12. rule — a law
  13. dip — to sink
  14. fall — the season
  15. spell — a short time
  16. ground — crushed
  17. spell — magic
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. ground — a position
  23. field — a subject
  24. cap — a hat

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