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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: ball · spell · capital · shower · leaves · fork · band · lie

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. shower — to wash
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. spell — letters
  8. band — a music group
  9. spell — magic
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. ball — a dance
  13. capital — a city
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. shower — rain
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. lie — to recline
  18. fork — in a road
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. ball — a great time
  22. band — a ring
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. capital — money

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