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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 · prune · pitch · coach · spring · perch · capital · root

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. root — of a word
  6. capital — a city
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. prune — to trim
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — completely
  14. sharp — clever
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. capital — money
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — of water
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. spring — a coil
  21. root — of a plant
  22. perch — the fish
  23. prune — to trim
  24. root — the cause

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