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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: jam · face · spell · root · capital · pitcher · wind · wound

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. face — to confront
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. capital — money
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. wound — an injury
  14. face — to point toward
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. spell — a short time
  17. wound — an injury
  18. root — of a word
  19. face — part of the head
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. root — the cause
  22. wind — moving air
  23. root — of a plant
  24. wind — moving air

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