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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. file — a tool
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. capital — a city
  5. chip — for betting
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. file — a document
  14. chest — a box
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chest — of your body
  17. file — a line of people
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fork — in a road
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. vault — a safe
  23. pitch — completely
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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