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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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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: rest · pitch · capital · stick · mouse · cell · mate · spell

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. rest — a break
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. rest — what's left
  7. spell — a short time
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. mate — a partner
  10. capital — money
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cell — a phone
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. cell — in biology
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. spell — magic
  21. mate — to breed
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. rest — what's left
  24. cell — in a prison

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