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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.

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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: capital · spell · board · rest · row · mine · mate · plane

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. spell — letters
  6. capital — money
  7. mate — to breed
  8. row — a line
  9. rest — what's left
  10. mate — a partner
  11. board — a committee
  12. board — to get on
  13. spell — magic
  14. row — to paddle
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. rest — what's left
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. plane — a tool
  21. rest — a break
  22. mine — for digging
  23. spell — a short time
  24. mate — a friend

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