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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: ruler · track · squash · spell · capital · tube · wind · cap

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. squash — the sport
  3. spell — a short time
  4. tube — the underground
  5. spell — letters
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. cap — a lid
  8. track — a song
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. squash — to crush
  11. track — a path
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. tube — a container
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. wind — moving air
  16. capital — a city
  17. cap — a hat
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. cap — of ice
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. track — to keep track
  23. capital — money
  24. spell — magic

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