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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 · cell · straw · fall · bound · spell · firm · land

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. fall — the season
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. spell — letters
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cell — a phone
  9. land — to come down
  10. firm — a company
  11. spell — magic
  12. firm — steady
  13. capital — a city
  14. spell — a short time
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. capital — money
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — obliged
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bound — certain
  21. land — ground
  22. cell — in biology
  23. land — a country
  24. firm — decided

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