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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: spell · capital · pop · mate · bat · fine · fall · hide

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mate — a friend
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — soda
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. mate — a partner
  8. spell — letters
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. capital — a city
  11. mate — to breed
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bat — the animal
  16. fine — high quality
  17. pop — music
  18. fine — all right
  19. capital — money
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — a short time
  22. fall — the season
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bat — in an idiom

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