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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 120 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 · bat · band · present · ball · key · chip · spell

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. band — a ring
  3. capital — a city
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. ball — a great time
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. spell — letters
  9. key — in music
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. band — a music group
  12. key — for a lock
  13. chip — to eat
  14. present — the time now
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. present — a gift
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. chip — for betting
  20. key — the most important part
  21. spell — magic
  22. ball — a dance
  23. spell — a short time
  24. present — there

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