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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: face · capital · spring · bank · spell · prune · cell · drill

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. capital — money
  3. drill — a practice
  4. cell — in biology
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — magic
  8. bank — for money
  9. cell — a phone
  10. face — to point toward
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. drill — army training
  13. bank — for money
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bank — of a river
  16. spring — the season
  17. capital — a city
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. spring — of water
  20. drill — the tool
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to confront
  23. spell — letters
  24. prune — to trim

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