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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.

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: spell · prune · capital · perch · roll · wave · pitcher · wind

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wind — moving air
  9. perch — the fish
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — magic
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. spell — a short time
  16. capital — a city
  17. prune — to trim
  18. capital — money
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. roll — a cake
  21. roll — a list
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wind — to turn a key

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