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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: date · rush · prune · sharp · wave · capital · bark · spell

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. sharp — clever
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. spell — magic
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. spell — letters
  11. capital — money
  12. spell — a short time
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. date — the fruit
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. capital — a city
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. rush — hurry
  22. prune — to trim
  23. sharp — exactly
  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