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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 120 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
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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: ball · hide · fan · capital · tear · scale · spell · present

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. ball — a great time
  3. present — the time now
  4. tear — from crying
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. scale — size or range
  8. tear — from crying
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. present — a gift
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. spell — magic
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. ball — a dance
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. tear — to rip
  18. spell — a short time
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. spell — letters
  22. scale — in music
  23. present — there
  24. scale — for weighing

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