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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.

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: cold · capital · spell · bay · face · sharp · rock · prune

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. rock — a stone
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. spell — magic
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. face — to point toward
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. face — to confront
  13. sharp — clever
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — letters
  16. cold — an illness
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. face — part of the head
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. rock — music

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