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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. capital — a city
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. rush — hurry
  8. capital — money
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. sharp — clever
  12. prune — to trim
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — temperature
  15. object — a thing
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. prune — to trim
  18. object — an aim
  19. degree — an amount
  20. object — to protest
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. stock — goods
  23. branch — a division
  24. stock — shares

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