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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.

Make a worksheet

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: branch · capital · spell · sharp · ground · coach · content · season

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. ground — a position
  4. sharp — clever
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. branch — a division
  7. ground — the earth
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. ground — crushed
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. content — happy
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. season — in sport
  16. capital — a city
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. season — of the year
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — letters
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. capital — money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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