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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: row · capital · deal · last · trunk · land · cabinet · spell

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. capital — a city
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. spell — letters
  6. last — finally
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. capital — money
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. land — to come down
  11. deal — to handle
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. land — a country
  16. land — ground
  17. last — to go on
  18. row — a line
  19. spell — magic
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. spell — a short time
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. last — final

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