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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.

Make a worksheet

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: chair · file · capital · pit · prune · spring · patient · content

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. capital — money
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — a coil
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. content — happy
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. capital — a city
  14. prune — to trim
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. pit — a hole
  17. file — a line of people
  18. prune — to trim
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. content — the amount
  21. spring — the season
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. chair — a leader

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