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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 120 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: cap · temple · clip · pitcher · branch · coach · spell · capital

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. clip — for paper
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. cap — a lid
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. spell — letters
  8. capital — money
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. clip — to cut
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. branch — a division
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. capital — a city
  20. cap — a hat
  21. clip — a video
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. spell — magic
  24. cap — of ice

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