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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: court · wind · lash · capital · foot · sharp · bass · prune

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. wind — moving air
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. prune — to trim
  8. capital — a city
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. sharp — clever
  13. wind — moving air
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. capital — money
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. bass — low music
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. bass — the fish
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. court — of a king
  24. lash — to lash out

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