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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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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: root · perch · face · capital · deal · rule · wake · pass

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. root — of a plant
  5. face — part of the head
  6. capital — money
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pass — a permit
  12. root — of a word
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. deal — to handle
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — a law
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — to point toward
  20. perch — the fish
  21. wake — a trail
  22. root — the cause
  23. rule — government
  24. pass — to spend 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