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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: prune · mate · deal · capital · wake · bass · spell · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. spell — magic
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. mate — to breed
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bass — the fish
  7. last — to go on
  8. capital — a city
  9. wake — a trail
  10. last — final
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. prune — to trim
  13. spell — a short time
  14. mate — a friend
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. mate — a partner
  19. bass — low music
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. capital — money
  22. spell — letters
  23. deal — to handle
  24. wake — before a funeral

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