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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 · bat · bass · prune · mouse · capital · track · sharp

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. spell — letters
  6. track — a song
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. prune — to trim
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. spell — a short time
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. capital — a city
  18. bat — the animal
  19. sharp — clever
  20. capital — money
  21. track — a path
  22. spell — magic
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the fish

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