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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: sharp · capital · mark · mate · prune · object · bass · pound

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bass — the fish
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mark — a grade
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. prune — to trim
  9. mate — a friend
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. capital — a city
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. pound — a weight
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. object — an aim
  20. mate — a partner
  21. object — a thing
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. capital — money
  24. sharp — clever

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