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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: face · root · fall · wave · sharp · ground · capital · perch

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. fall — the season
  3. ground — crushed
  4. sharp — clever
  5. ground — a position
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. face — part of the head
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. fall — to drop
  11. capital — a city
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. face — to point toward
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — the cause
  16. face — to confront
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. capital — money
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. perch — the fish
  22. root — of a word
  23. fall — to drop
  24. ground — the earth

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