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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 116 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: fine · capital · clip · mug · land · cell · bowl · spell

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. capital — money
  3. mug — a face
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. mug — to rob
  6. clip — for paper
  7. spell — a short time
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — a city
  11. mug — a cup
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. land — ground
  16. fine — all right
  17. spell — magic
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. cell — in biology
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. spell — letters
  23. fine — high quality
  24. land — a country

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