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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.

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: bark · capital · perch · sharp · root · stand · spell · racket

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. sharp — clever
  4. spell — letters
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. stand — to bear
  7. spell — magic
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. root — of a word
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. root — the cause
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. spell — a short time
  18. root — of a plant
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bark — to shout
  21. perch — the fish
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. capital — a city
  24. stand — on your feet

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