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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.

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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 · spring · pass · rule · stem · capital · sharp · perch

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. spring — of water
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. rule — government
  5. perch — the fish
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. capital — a city
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — magic
  10. pass — a permit
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. spring — the season
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. spring — a coil
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. capital — money
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. spell — a short time
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. stem — to come from
  23. rule — a law
  24. sharp — with an edge

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