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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: capital · mate · mug · spell · snap · last · net · mark

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. capital — money
  3. snap — to click
  4. capital — a city
  5. mug — a cup
  6. mark — a trace
  7. spell — magic
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mug — a face
  10. mate — to breed
  11. last — final
  12. net — for catching
  13. spell — a short time
  14. net — in sport
  15. mate — a friend
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. mark — a grade
  19. mate — a partner
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. net — after costs
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  24. spell — letters

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