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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. roll — a list
  3. prune — to trim
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. cue — a hint
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. cue — a signal
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. roll — a cake
  14. capital — money
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. cue — for pool
  18. wound — an injury
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — the underground
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wound — an injury
  23. tube — a container
  24. branch — a division

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