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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.

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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: snap · rest · sharp · capital · pit · perch · pop · spell

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. perch — the fish
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. spell — a short time
  5. rest — what's left
  6. snap — to click
  7. spell — letters
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. pop — soda
  10. pop — music
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. capital — a city
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. sharp — clever
  16. pop — to visit
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. rest — a break
  19. rest — what's left
  20. pit — in a race
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. pit — a hole
  23. spell — magic
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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