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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 116 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. capital — money
  3. band — a music group
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. row — a line
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. march — the month
  10. row — to paddle
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. band — a ring
  16. capital — a city
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. march — music
  19. rush — hurry
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. prune — to trim
  23. march — the month
  24. wound — an injury

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