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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. stock — goods
  9. fine — all right
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. hand — in cards
  15. capital — money
  16. stock — shares
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. fine — high quality
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. capital — a city
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. mouse — the animal

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