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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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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: last · mate · spring · spell · kick · object · mine · capital

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mine — for digging
  4. object — to protest
  5. spring — the season
  6. spell — a short time
  7. last — to go on
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. last — final
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. last — finally
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. kick — in football
  16. spell — letters
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mate — a partner
  20. object — an aim
  21. object — a thing
  22. mate — to breed
  23. spring — of water
  24. capital — a city

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