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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: mine · spell · roll · kid · arm · suit · net · capital

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. roll — a cake
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. capital — a city
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. capital — money
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. kid — to tease
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. suit — in cards
  13. net — after costs
  14. suit — to fit
  15. spell — a short time
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. kid — child
  18. roll — a list
  19. mine — for digging
  20. suit — clothes
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. spell — magic

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