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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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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: nail · capital · degree · spell · cell · pitch · cabinet · wake

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. spell — a short time
  8. pitch — completely
  9. spell — letters
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. degree — from a university
  14. capital — money
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. degree — an amount
  17. spell — magic
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — a phone
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. degree — temperature
  24. capital — a city

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