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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 120 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: spell · bear · capital · wake · perch · rock · ground · bass

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — low music
  4. spell — magic
  5. ground — crushed
  6. spell — letters
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. ground — a position
  10. perch — the fish
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. capital — money
  14. wake — a trail
  15. spell — a short time
  16. rock — music
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bear — the animal
  22. ground — the earth
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. rock — a 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