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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 · hand · calf · last · bowl · wake · band

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. spell — magic
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. spell — a short time
  7. hand — in cards
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. band — a music group
  10. last — finally
  11. last — to go on
  12. capital — a city
  13. band — a ring
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. spell — letters
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — a trail
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. capital — money
  21. last — final
  22. hand — help
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. calf — of the leg

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