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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: coach · branch · squash · bulb · face · sharp · capital · spell

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bulb — for light
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. face — to confront
  5. capital — a city
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. face — to point toward
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. spell — magic
  17. capital — money
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. spell — a short time
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. spell — letters
  24. face — part of the head

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