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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. track — a path
  3. court — of law
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — for sport
  9. cap — a lid
  10. track — to keep track
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. cap — of ice
  13. track — a song
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. capital — money
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — low music
  18. stem — to come from
  19. capital — a city
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. squash — to crush
  22. squash — the sport
  23. bass — the fish
  24. cap — a hat

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