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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. court — of a king
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. saw — the tool
  7. rest — a break
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. rest — what's left
  10. charge — in control
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mine — for digging
  13. capital — money
  14. can — a tin
  15. charge — electricity
  16. court — of law
  17. rest — what's left
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. charge — a price
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. saw — the tool
  22. court — for sport
  23. can — a tin
  24. capital — a city

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