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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: spell · capital · jam · mine · row · bore · wound · bear

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. capital — money
  3. bear — the animal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — a short time
  11. capital — a city
  12. spell — letters
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. row — a line
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bore — to drill

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