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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: wound · capital · bark · jam · face · rash · spell · sharp

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bark — to shout
  4. wound — an injury
  5. sharp — clever
  6. capital — money
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. face — to confront
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. face — to point toward
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. rash — hasty
  20. spell — letters
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. spell — magic
  23. capital — a city
  24. spell — a short time

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