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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: wake · capital · sharp · pass · face · fan · spring · pop

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — a trail
  3. pass — a permit
  4. face — to confront
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. sharp — clever
  7. face — part of the head
  8. spring — of water
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. spring — the season
  12. pop — soda
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pop — music
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. spring — a coil
  21. face — to point toward
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. pop — to visit
  24. sharp — with an edge

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