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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: spell · cap · last · snap · capital · land · deal · sharp

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. spell — a short time
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. spell — letters
  7. deal — to handle
  8. spell — magic
  9. land — to come down
  10. capital — money
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — clever
  13. last — finally
  14. cap — of ice
  15. last — final
  16. cap — a lid
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. cap — a hat
  21. land — ground
  22. snap — to click
  23. land — a country
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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