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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
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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: tube · nail · lie · fork · last · clip · spell · capital

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. clip — for paper
  4. tube — a container
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. last — finally
  7. spell — magic
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. capital — a city
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. spell — letters
  15. lie — to recline
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fork — in a road
  18. tube — the underground
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. clip — a video
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. capital — money
  24. spell — a short time

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