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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pitcher · prune · capital · lean · bowl · ground · cell · fine

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. ground — a position
  3. fine — high quality
  4. lean — to bend
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. lean — thin
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. capital — a city
  9. fine — all right
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. prune — to trim
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. ground — the earth
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. capital — money

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